Deus Ex: Evangile Revolution (Princess Evangile Crossover)
by Jakespeed207
Summary: A young man, name: Okonogi Masaya. His life changes for the worse when his family is targeted by mobsters. Now, he lives a life of near isolation due to his... changes. But could a chance meeting, and an incredible offer, possibly help him regain the humanity he thought he might have lost? Welcome, Masaya, to Vincennes Private Girls' Academy! Rated M for some bloody scenes.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, guys and gals... It's been a while, hasn't it?**

 **I apologise for going off the radar for so long. Truth is, I got sidetracked tremendously thanks to finding the Youtube channel Lost Pause and subsequently getting really into Visual Novels. This one is a result of that. It's, as you could probably guess, a fusion of Deus Ex (specifically Human Revolution) and Princess Evangile, the story of how a young, unlucky man named Okonogi Masaya manages to enter an all-girls school, and the most prestigios one at that.**

 **Now, of course, two things: I do not own either Princess Evangile or Deus Ex. They all belongs to their respective owners.**

 **Secondly, there will be spoilers in this story, so if you have yet to play Princess Evangile, I suggest proceeding with caution.**

 **0o0o0o0o0o0**

The air of the city of Tsurugigaoka was cool, with a light breeze picking up.

Along its streets, the citizens went about their daily lives, running businesses, taking care of children, and generally living their lives.

Amongst the residents, however, was a young man whose life would change very soon, even more than it had already.

The events that would be coming would define his acceptance in society.

Along a nearly empty street, the young man was walking alone, half of his body nearly hidden by the shadows of the buildings. The young man stood at an impressive 180 centimetres (about 5'11) and had dark brown hair that fell limply around his head, leaving a few bangs covering his face. His eyes were of a dark red colour, a bit of an oddity, thought they could not be seen due to the dark pair of glasses he was wearing, despite the fact that it was night-time. Even more oddly, the glasses themselves did not have legs, which raised the question of how they remained over his eyes. His attire consisted of a plain black shirt and equally black jeans, with running shoes on his feet. A dark-grey jacket and black gloves completed his ensemble.

This young man's name was Okonogi Masaya.

As he walked down the road, Masaya became aware that most people were staring at him, likely due to his attire. He paid them no mind, however, as this was hardly the first time it had happened. No matter where he went, he would always receive the same looks. He had grown numb to them now.

He had yet to return to his apartment. He had left his last assignment some time ago, but felt that, in order to clear his head, a nice walk was in order. In the end, however, he was unable to get rid of the thoughts that were plaguing his brain. With an annoyed shake of his head, Masaya decided to let it be and finally get home, taking a sharp right into one of the shortcuts he knew.

That decision would cement his future.

As he walked down the alleyway, his enhanced hearing picked up the sound of a struggle up ahead, as well as two female voices. With a raised eyebrow, Masaya activated the program that silenced his footsteps and quietly crept to the end of the alley, stopping at the edge and activating thermal vision on his glasses. He could see six figures near the middle of the road, one of them being somewhat smaller than the rest. Switching off the thermal vision, he poked his head around and zoomed his sights in.

It seemed that there were five assailants in green-ish uniforms, all of them with the same kind of hat. One of them, a woman with dark green hair, was holding tightly onto the wrist of a bubblegum-pink-haired girl wearing a uniform he recognised.

 _'_ _A Vincennes student? Then that must mean those women are the Gardiane I'd heard about.'_

Figuring there wasn't any particular threat, Masaya zoomed his sight back to normal and sighed, stepping away from the wall and out of the alleyway. Taking a few steps out, he called out a simple "Hey!" His voice was a bit rusty from lack of use, not having many people to talk to.

The entire group looked his way. The women were all stunned into silence. Masaya actually struck quite an intimidating figure, with the combination of the jacket, the shades, and still being half-hidden by shadow.

The pink-haired girl realised this was her chance and promptly took it, snatching her wrist away with all her might and running Masaya's way.

"Please, help me!" she exclaimed, grabbing Masaya's arm.

Masaya looked down at her with a frown, not really liking the fact that she had grabbed him, but his facial detection and recognition software told him this girl was nothing but afraid, and not of him. With a quick nod, he reached out and pushed her behind him, holding an arm out to keep her there, though she held it slightly in order to take peeks over his shoulder.

"Who are you?" the green-haired woman demanded, taking a few steps towards him. Masaya didn't answer immediately, sizing up the five Gardiane instead. He could see through their stances that they were quite confident, as their earlier surprise had vanished entirely.

"That is neither here nor there," the young man finally said, squaring his shoulders. "Why are you attacking this girl?"

"That is not your business," the woman responded, somewhat haughtily. "Step aside, now."

Masaya didn't move. The Gardiane woman didn't seem to have much patience, for she immediately began to move forward threateningly, continuing to tell him to step aside. Looking to his sides, Masaya realised that the rest of the Gardiane women had also circled around in order to box him and the pink-haired girl in. The woman that was advancing towards him suddenly stopped and took a martial arts pose, and the rest of the woman followed her lead.

"As you wish, then," the woman nearly growled. "We have had enough of chasing after Rise to have a random man stop us. Ladies, take him down!"

The women nodded in unison, and a girl to his right struck first, dashing forward and lashing out with a high kick that would normally have knocked anyone down.

But Masaya wasn't normal.

There was a smacking sound, but it was not the one the women expected. Instead of Masaya being sent to the ground in a heap, or even dodging, he had reached out at an incredibly quick speed and stopped the kick like it weighted nothing simply by grabbing the attacker's shin. The woman winced as she felt all of her momentum stop, and she was sure she was going to wake up with a bruise there tomorrow.

Still holding the attacker's shin, Masaya looked around for a moment, glaring at the rest of the women. "Fine then," he said in a low voice, and without another thought, he struck.

Tightly grabbing the shin of the woman he was holding on to, Masaya twisted his body and quite literally _threw_ her directly at one of her companions, who couldn't react in time and ended up yelping in pain as both women went down in a heap.

The other three were flabbergasted at the ease with which Masaya had thrown their comrade, and Masaya used this moment of surprise. With experienced steps, he dashed forward quickly and thrust out a fist, catching the main Gardiane officer directly on her sternum. The woman gasped in shock and pain, spittle flying from her mouth as all of her breath went away. As Masaya retracted his fist, the woman went down to her knees, arms curling around her stomach and mouth and eyes still wide open in pain. Looking at the other two, Masaya took a jump-step and ended up right between them. Lashing out with his right hand flat, he carefully slammed it into the right Gardiane's neck, almost instantly knocking her out. Turning to the Gardiane officer to his left, he tilted his head to the right in order to avoid a punch to his nose, then used the momentum to get around the woman and wrap his arm around her neck, squeezing tightly enough that her air was cut off. She fell unconscious within seconds, and he carefully laid her down just as the first Gardiane's fight for oxygen was lost and she also fell to the pavement in an unconscious heap.

The two Gardiane that had fallen down chose that moment to stand, and both were shocked at the devastation to their team. Masaya was standing in the middle of a trio of unconscious Gardiane, glaring at the two of them. Looking at each other, the women nodded and dashed right for Masaya, one of them throwing a high punch while the second lashed out with a sweep kick. To their surprise, Masaya nimbly jumped over the sweep kick while simultaneously catching the first attacker's punch, thus using the momentum of the punch to push himself away slightly and to make the puncher lose her balance, which he capitulated upon. Pulling her forward, Masaya used her failed centre of gravity and slammed his elbow into the nape of her neck, easily knocking her into unconsciousness. The final attacker attempted to strike at the back of his head just then, but he ducked just as she threw the punch, thrusting his elbow back and landing it right on her sternum, similarly to how he dealt with the first woman. This one also lost the fight and was unable to draw enough oxygen to stay awake, thus falling into unconsciousness. Masaya quickly grabbed the neck of her uniform before she broke her nose by slamming into the pavement, slowly laying her on the ground.

The exchange took no more than a minute.

Masaya reached up with his right hand a pressed it through his hair, trying to quell the small headache that had sprouted in his brain. Remembering that there was one more person, he opened his eyes and looked to the right, where Rise was standing, stock still and staring down at the unconscious Gardiane with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"Rise, was it?" Masaya's voice snapped Rise right out of her stupor, and she flinched and scooted back, looking at Masaya with the same wide eyes. "I apologise for startling you, but I do have some questions, if you don't mind."

"Y-Yes," Rise nodded, regaining her composure.

After moving the Gardiane into the same alley he had come out of, Masaya leaned against the wall in a way that he would be able to watch them and talk to Rise, who had moved to the mouth of the alleyway as well, at the same time.

"Now, I'm quite curious," Masaya began, eyes closed and arms crossed. "Exactly what did I help you in? You seemed to be overpowered by the five-some over there, but I don't have any actual guarantee that you're a good person."

Rise looked down momentarily, gathering her thoughts. Finally, she looked up and focused on Masaya. "I am on a scouting mission."

Now that wasn't what Masaya was expecting. "A scouting mission? What is a Vincennes student possibly scouting for? I thought you girls got nearly everything."

"What I am scouting for cannot be bought, exactly," Rise said vaguely.

"If you say so. Oh, my name is Okonogi Masaya, by the way," Masaya introduced himself.

"Rousenin Rise," Rise responded, bowing slightly, an action that confused Masaya a little.

"Now, Rise, what are you searching for, then? Perhaps I could help you out," Masaya offered, glancing at the Gardiane when one of them stirred a little.

"You would do that?" Rise asked, a little hope in her tone.

"Sure. I already helped you with them," Masaya pointed out, jabbing a thumb at the Gardiane.

"True. Speaking of which, you… didn't hurt them severely, right?" Rise asked nervously.

"Relax, I only hit them hard enough to knock them unconscious. After a good night's rest, they'll be right as rain," Masaya waved his hand offhandedly. Realising that one of the Gardiane was already beginning to come around, he turned and began to walk away, waving at Rise to follow him. "Come. The last thing we need is to be attacked again."

After giving the Gardiane a nervous glance, Rise followed the young man, who also kept glancing back to make sure they weren't being followed. After a few twists and turns, the two of them ended up in front of a convenience store, where Masaya bought bottles of water for both of them. After taking a few sips of his, Masaya prompted Rise, "So, will you tell me, or is this a mission you'd rather do on your own?"

Rise seemed pensive as she drank her water, and after a few moments, she began to study Masaya with a critical eye. After giving him a once over, she asked him, "Masaya-san, how old are you?"

"Nineteen," Masaya answered with a raised eyebrow.

"You're the same age as me, then," Rise said in a low voice. "But... are you currently attending school?"

At that, Masaya looked away for a moment. "No," he responded. "I'm not."

For some reason, Rise's face lit up when he said that. "That's… perfect!"

"Perfect?"

"Masaya-san, is it possible we could talk, somewhere private?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow at the question. "Well, would my place suffice?"

"You have your own house?" Rise asked with wonder in her tone.

"An apartment, actually," Masaya corrected her.

"Sure, that sounds just fine," Rise nodded.

With a return nod, Masaya threw his empty bottle away and led Rise to his apartment, which was a few blocks away from their current location. The walk was mostly quiet, though near the apartment, Rise couldn't quite contain her curiosity and asked, "Masaya-san, have you been trained in martial arts?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow at the question, figuring that she was asking because of his fight. "Not particularly, but I know a few moves. The way I fight is simply by overpowering my opponent, not with any actual style."

"I see," Rise nodded, and nothing more was said until they reached a large apartment complex.

After entering the building, they rode up the elevator to the fifth floor, whereupon Masaya led her to apartment 5F. Opening the door, Masaya invited Rise in and then entered himself, closing the door. The apartment was a cosy two-bedroom place, with a bathroom in each room. Masaya felt it was more than he needed, but it had been a gift of sorts, so he wasn't complaining.

Walking to the kitchen as Rise looked around in wonder, Masaya pulled out two cups from the cabinets, then asked, "Hey, Rise, do you want anything to drink? Tea, perhaps?"

"If you have some, it would be appreciated," Rise nodded gracefully.

"You can take a seat. I'll bring it to you," Masaya said, already preparing the tea.

A few minutes later, Rise and Masaya sat around a circular coffee table, each one nursing a cup of tea. After drinking some silently, Rise set her cup down and spoke. "Masaya-san... I believe you can help me with something indeed."

"Well, what is it?" Masaya prompted, sitting back and looking at Rise expectantly.

Thus, Rise began her explanation, describing the current situation of Vincennes. The school had been slowly losing students due to two reasons: the fact that Vincennes was a boarding school from Pre-K all the way to college, and the cost of tuition. The number of students had dwindled enough that the school found itself beginning to have financial issues. To add to the situation, the main building of the school needed to be rebuilt in order to update its earthquake protocols, but the school refused to lower the overall size of the building to be equal to the current number of students, thus leaving Vincennes in even more dire straits. An emergency meeting was called by the Board of Directors, and in it, an idea was proposed: gender integration.

In short, the school could release its 'all girls' rule and become co-educational, but that brought about its own problems. Most of the people of Vincennes were pure traditionalist, in the sense that they would rather keep the school as a purely female school and completely ignore the issue until it was too late. Rise was one of the students who didn't see it this way, and her grandmother, who was also the Vincennes chairwoman, supported this firmly. As such, the plan was grudgingly accepted, but the traditional side of the Board did not make it easy.

Instead of immediate integration, the school would only take a sample student. A single one. The one chosen would study alongside the Vincennes students, and by the end of the year, the students would decide through a grand vote if they would accept becoming co-educational. To add to the matter, one of the students would be the one to go out and find said student, then recruit him. The male would need to be of school age, yet not currently attending any school. He could also not be of questionable character, as Vincennes took pride in their maidens.

In the end, despite all of the stipulations, Rise decided to take the scouting mission. She went out into the city of Tsurugigaoka, leaving the school early and arriving late at night just to try and find the young man that could be transferred in as a sample. While she never lost hope, the mission was one that quickly became nearly impossible, and her scouting time had soon expired. However, she didn't give up. She continued to leave the school, most of the time in secret, in order to try and find someone. It came to the point where the Gardiane were sent after her, as it was against Vincennes rules to leave the school for anything other than an emergency.

And that's where her path and Masaya's crossed.

"As such, Masaya-san, I would like to ask you something." Rise took a deep breath, then looked right into Masaya's tinted lenses. "Would you like to apply for Vincennes and become a transfer student there?"

Silence echoed in the room, the only sounds being the ambience outside the apartment window. Rise stared at Masaya with determination, but the mysterious young man never moved a muscle. She wasn't sure if he was thinking it over. For all she knew, he could have fallen asleep. It was difficult to tell with the glasses. But now that she had a chance, Rise studied him closely, noticing a faint scar on his left cheek, and another on the right part of his neck. They proved that there was much more to this young man's life than he seemed.

Finally, after a few moments, Masaya let out a small, yet explosive sigh and leaned forward, seemingly staring down at the floor from between his knees. In a low voice, he spoke, "I'd normally accept that offer, but..." He went quiet for a moment, but Rise waited patiently. "But... I don't think I'd be... accepted there."

"What? Why in the world would you not be accepted?" Rise asked, perplexed.

"I'm..." Masaya didn't finish that thought, but stood up instead. "No... It's best that I show you. Just please..."

Rise looked up at the young man and was surprised to see that his glasses were missing, letting her see his eyes for the first time. He had dark red, slanted eyes, which were currently shadowed. It seemed that whatever was going through Masaya's mind was something that weighted heavily on him.

"Please..." Masaya repeated. "Don't... run when you see what I mean."

To Rise's surprise, Masaya turned his back to her and began to take his jacket off, sliding it off of his frame slowly. Rise expected to see perhaps another scar, or maybe a tattoo that he was ashamed of, though the seriousness with which he said his last sentence made her doubt those thoughts.

What actually came into view shocked her.

As Masaya's coat slid off, it seemed to her that he was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt underneath. However, he then reached up to the neck of said shirt and pulled it off as well, revealing that it was a short-sleeved shirt. What she thought were designs on his shirt's sleeves was something else entirely.

Masaya's back seemed normal, with the exception of a long, diagonal scar on his back and one or two others around the upper part of it. However, instead of continuing into arms, pure black metal was all that Rise saw. Masaya had seemingly advanced prosthetics in place of his entire arms, and she couldn't even imagine what he could have been through to warrant such a thing. Additionally, as she studied his back, she realised that he had several large, cylindrical studs around his upper back and spine, suggesting even more implants were there as well.

Almost unconsciously, Rise stood and slowly walked over, staring at Masaya's arms and back. He had yet to turn around, so she said, in as calm a voice as she could muster, "Masaya-san... could you... turn around?"

The young man stiffened slightly, but a second later, he nodded and slowly turned, facing her completely. Rise once again drank in the image, noticing the wraps he had around his sternum, the studs that formed a loose half circle around his neck, and what seemed to be armour plating on his chest, though it was of the same colour as his skin, which had several burn scars. His torso also had a few scars here and there, and she noticed that his the outer edges of his eyes were framed by two metallic, curved objects, where she hypothesized was where his glasses were stored.

Slowly, Rise got closer to Masaya, taking one step, then another, and another, until she was only two inches away from him. Masaya's eyes remained closed, so just before she reached out, she asked, "May I?"

A small nod from him was the only answer.

Slowly, Rise placed her hands on his shoulders, sliding them down until she reached his hands. The metal was smooth, with some ridges here and there, plus some openings through which she could see the internal machinery that made up the arms. She grabbed a hold of his hands and lifted them, watching with fascinated eyes the machinery inside his arms moved and worked in tandem.

When she looked back up at Masaya, however, was when she noticed it: Masaya was afraid. His head was bowed low, his eyes were shut tightly, and he seemed to have given up in trying to support his case as most people would, instead preparing himself for her to reject him.

The words he said came to her mind.

 _"Don't... run when you see what I mean."_

"Masaya-san..." She tried to get his attention, but he didn't look at her. She tried once again. "Masaya-san... Please, look at me."

Finally, Masaya's eyes opened, his dark red irises connecting with her own blue ones. His eyes were deeply troubled.

"Masaya-san... these prosthetics _do not_ change or take away who you are," Rise spoke passionately. "They only show that you have been through something not many would have survived from, and you decided to keep on living, but at a cost you chose. It is a burden you must carry, but it is also what allows you to maintain the gift of life. Your mind... your soul... both are still yours. And neither will change, nor will my opinion of you. Please... do not be afraid."

Masaya's eyes widened at her words. For him, it was an extremely shocking moment, since, before now, _nobody_ had ever offered a truly positive remark about his augmentations that didn't have to do with his job. It had been something he had already accepted. But this girl... No, this woman that he barely knew... She accepted him wholeheartedly?

How?

Why?

Masaya looked down once again, this time a small but true smile forming on his lips. Rise was having no more of his avoidance, however, as she quickly placed her hands on his cheeks to bring his face back to her eye level. When she did, though, she was surprised and elated to see him smiling.

"Thank you, Rise," Masaya said in a low voice, gratitude dripping from his words. "You have no idea... how much I appreciate those words."

"I can only imagine," Rise said with a wistful smile. It disappeared a moment later when she asked a question. "Masaya-san, how did this happen to you?"

Masaya looked away for a moment, closing his eyes. When he looked back, his sight seemed a little strained. "I was nearly killed by an explosion."

"An explosion?!" Rise exclaimed.

Masaya nodded.

"But..."

"No, please," Masaya pleaded with her. "I know what you're going to ask, but please... don't. It's... not something I like to think about."

Rise's eyes closed in sympathy, and she nodded. "Very well then, Masaya-san."

"Thank you," Masaya said gratefully. Guiding both of them back to the couch, he sat and motioned for Rise to do the same. "Now... I understand you want me to be the transfer student and guinea pig at Vincennes, but why me?"

"Because you helped me, Masaya-san," Rise explained. "I had asked several men that had passed by us as I struggled against the Gardiane, many of them seemingly our age. But not one of them spoke up or tried to help... except you. Also, your character seems to be very good to me."

"Is it?"

"Yes," Rise nodded enthusiastically. "You seem like a good man, Masaya-san. And I feel that with you, the gender integration movement may very well succeed."

Masaya looked down, surprised at those last words. Once again, positive reinforcement had left him a bit baffled, so instead, Masaya decided to move the subject on after an awkward cough. "Yes, well… thank you, I suppose. Moving on, I do have one more question. How much is the tuition?"

"Oh, you do not need to worry about that, Masaya-san," Rise waved the question away. "The school has set aside a scholarship for the transfer student, so you'll be fine."

"I see. Very well, then, I accept, Rise," Masaya said, nodding his head.

"Oh, thank goodness," Rise sighed, placing a hand on her chest. "You have no idea how hard it has been for me to find someone."

"I can only imagine," Masaya mimicked her words from earlier with a smile, which they shared a laugh over. Once it dried up, Masaya checked the analog clock he had near the kitchen and had a double take. "Wow, is it that late already? Rise, do you have a mode of transport for getting home, or do you plan to walk the way there? Because it's already one in the morning, and I'm damn sure no buses run at this hour."

Rise herself had a double take when she checked the time. "Oh my, it really is."

With a frown, Masaya walked over to the window and checked outside. On the road below, he saw several people moving one way or another, most in groups. A few of them were also stumbling quite a lot, suggesting that they were very drunk. Looking back at Rise, who was watching him expectantly, Masaya made a decision.

"Right… you're staying here tonight."

"W-What?" Rise certainly hadn't been expecting that, and her red face spoke volumes about her thoughts.

"Don't give me that," Masaya said as he walked over to the kitchen to put away the teacups. "It's too late for you to take that walk on your own, and I know what dangers there are in Tsurugigaoka this late at night. Additionally, there seems to have been a party of sorts nearby, because there's a lot of drunks wandering around. You can stay in the guest bedroom tonight, and tomorrow, we'll head to Vincennes together. Sound good?"

Having calmed down, Rise had to admit that it was a good plan. Still, her nature made her try to decline. "But, Masaya-san, you've already done more than enough for me. I couldn't possibly-."

Whatever she was going to say was cut off when Masaya approached her and placed a metallic finger to her lips, locking eyes with her. "None of that now. It's no problem at all. Nobody will be using that bedroom tonight, and you're more than welcome to stay as long as you need. Understood?"

Masaya's forceful yet gentle nature was as much a new thing to Rise as Rise's acceptance and positive reinforcement was to Masaya. As such, she nodded and closed her eyes, smiling. "Thank you, Masaya-san."

"My pleasure," Masaya smiled tenderly back at her, then headed for the guest room, signalling for Rise to follow, which she did slowly. The door led to a simple room with a queen-sized bed and a similarly sized dresser just to its left. A medium TV sat atop the dresser, and there were two other doors in the room. "That door leads to the closet, and the other to the bathroom. There should be clean towels on a rack in there, as well as a few packaged toothbrushes. Use them as you need. Also, don't be surprised if you see clothing already inside the dresser or the closet. Some of my co-workers stay over at times, sometimes for days, so they've left clothes here." As Masaya explained all of this, he moved to the dresser and checked inside the drawers, moving back a little when he saw what was inside the uppermost one. With a small, mischievous smirk, he reached inside for one of the objects and held it on a finger, turning to Rise. "Hey, I don't suppose you'll be needing a spare pair of these?"

Hanging off Masaya's finger was a bright red, somewhat lacy pair of panties.

The young man tried to contain it, he really did, but when he saw Rise blush hotly and begin to stammer wildly, he couldn't help but laugh. The pair of panties was thrown back into the drawer as Masaya laughed in a somewhat raspy voice. However, the moment he saw Rise duck her head, he was taken aback.

"Wait… don't tell me you _do_ need a spare pair?" Masaya asked.

Rise nodded timidly.

"Hmm… I guess all that walking you must have done today ever since the morning _would_ call for a change…" Masaya muttered to himself, placing a hand to his chin. With a shrug, he turned back to Rise and waved at the drawer. "If you want to take any of those and use them, you can. Believe it or not, they're unused."

"Pardon?" Rise was taken aback by Masaya's words.

"One of my co-workers stayed here so often that she complained she should just outfit the room to her desires. I rejected that idea, of course, but she went out and bought a few pairs of spare clothes to keep here anyways, in case of any sudden need to stay, you know? So they're fresh pairs. If you plan to take a shower, the bathroom's right there, there's clean towels on the rack, there's toothbrushes there, and you also have fresh underwear. I think that covers all the necessary bases, no?"

"Y-Yes." It seemed Rise still wasn't out of her 'shock/embarrassed zone' yet.

"Very well, then," Masaya clapped his hands and began to walk out of the room. "You know where I'll be. If you need anything, don't hesitate to knock."

And with that, he headed out and went to his own room, leaving a blushing Rise to begin her nightly routine.

…

About half an hour later, Masaya was sitting by the edge of the bed, making a regular check up to his augmentations, when there was a knock on the door. Making sure he was wearing pants, Masaya called out, "Come on in."

Rise, wearing a pink night gown that had been in the closet, walked inside the carpeted room, immediately looking all over the place. Masaya's room was definitely more customised than the guest room. He had a king sized bed at the centre of the room, yet a dresser of the same size as the one in the other room. The floor was carpeted, and while there were no pictures by the walls, there was a framed one on his nightstand, which depicted a younger Masaya with a man and a woman who she figured were his parents.

Finally, she focused on Masaya and realised that he was doing something with his arms, as there were several metal parts on the bed and he was holding his left arm with the right one. His gaze was still on hers, however, and it just seemed amused.

"Like the room?" Masaya asked with a smirk.

"Certainly," Rise responded, walking over to stand at his side. As she looked over the nuts and bolts on the bed, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just a little check-up I do on my arms to make sure they're in top shape. The last one I did was a week ago," Masaya explained, twisting his left arm back and forth until he was sure it was positioned right. As he began to pick up the pieces on the bed, he asked with a smirk, "Was there something you needed, or did you just come to give me a goodnight kiss?"

Rise blushed and spluttered incoherently, making Masaya chuckle. "I'm joking, I'm joking."

"…" Rise moaned in slight annoyance, then smiled lightly. "Maybe I did."

"I wouldn't mind that," Masaya shot back. "Right or left cheek? Or would you rather go straight for the gold?"

Rise ended up blushing hotly once again, to which Masaya simply said, "I win."

"Muuuuu…" Rise moaned once again, then leaned against the bed and became serious. "Actually, I just wanted you to answer a few questions I had."

"Sure, go ahead," Masaya said. Yet, before she could begin, he raised a hand. "Before you start, though… that nightgown looks cute on you."

Rise ended up blushing once again, but this time, she grabbed one of his pillows and threw it his way with surprising strength, saying, "Would you please get serious?!"

"Alright, alright," Masaya chuckled, having snatched the pillow out of the air and tossed it back on the bed. Finishing up putting back his tools, he turned back to Rise and stood in front of her. "Go ahead and ask away."

"Earlier, you mentioned co-workers. Where do you work, Masaya-san?" Rise spoke her first question with a raised eyebrow.

Masaya looked up to the ceiling and heaved a sigh. "In a way, you could say I work for the government."

"How so?" Rise asked sceptically. To find someone of Masaya's age working for the government was a little rare.

"When I received these augmentations," Masaya explained, waving his hands over his upper body and head, "I was contacted by some government agents who wanted to hire me. I was a little sceptical myself, but they explained that with these augmentations, I could easily become one of their best workers. As such, I decided I may as well make something of myself and joined them. The best way you could describe my job is espionage and security. I'm part of a security team for a firm, and at the same time, I get sent on missions to gather information or sneak inside wherever my superiors want me to sneak into."

"I see. That also leads me to my next question: could you describe these 'augmentations' you mentioned? I must admit, I'm quite curious."

"Sure thing," Masaya said with a smile. "The most obvious ones would be my arms. They are made of pretty tough stuff, as I've found I'm able to punch right through a brick wall without issues. I'm also able to dislocate my fingers, which can be helpful from time to time. My arms also contain this." Taking a step back, Masaya lifted his right arm up and clenched his hand, making a blade slide out of a compartment just below his elbow. Rise gasped as the weapon slid out. "After some time working where I do, I bought myself this: a titanium blade, about 30 centimetres in length. I use it for both offensive and defensive purposes." Retracting the blade, Masaya stepped forward once again and motioned at his chest. "As you can see, I have armour plating on my torso. This was actually a gift from the firm I work for, as they knew that I'd need some cover for some of the places they would send me into. Additionally, they cover the core that powers most of these things." Next, he turned and motioned at his spine. "I think you noticed that my back is also a bit augmented. My spine, to be exact. I was given a reflex augmenter, which, as the name implies, boosts my reflexes past normal levels, and I was also given something called the Icarus Landing System. Basically, what it does is augment my spine and leg implants so that I can fall from any height and survive."

"Impressive," Rise spoke, sliding her hand down Masaya's back and feeling the ridges and studs implanted there.

Turning to face Rise again, Masaya continued, waving a hand at his legs. "My legs were also affected badly by the accident, so I was also given prosthetics for those. I augmented them myself over the last year, and now, I find that I can run at much faster speeds than a regular person, and conversely, I have a program implanted that silences my footsteps completely when I activate it, allowing me to remain quiet nearly wherever I wish." He brought her attention to his face this time. "When I accepted the job at the security team I work at, they themselves gave me several new implants, which include the armour plating I mentioned earlier, but also these glasses I have." To demonstrate, Masaya slid his glasses in and out, demonstrating how they worked. "The glasses allow my eyes to be hidden, which prevents me from being recognised at a glance, but they don't affect my sight at all." Masaya tapped the side of his head. "I was also given an implanted chip in my brain and specialised eyes, which allow me to have several augmentations such as thermal vision, zoomed sight, facial recognition and detection software, and a few others. Because of how the chip works, I've found that I'm also a pretty decent hacker. I can hack into almost any computer I find, which helps me a lot in my missions."

Rise was reeling from the amount of changes Masaya had in his body. It seemed just so futuristic, but no. It was all in front of her.

"My goodness, Masaya-san," Rise whispered. "You've made so many changes to yourself."

"All for the goal of surviving," Masaya nodded seriously. "But through it all, I tried my best to never lose my humanity. I've saved as many people during my missions as I could, trying my best to prevent them from having a fate like mine. I could never ignore a person in need." He smiled at Rise. "Which I think is what led to the two of us meeting."

"Indeed," Rise nodded, standing and stretching her arms high. "Well, I believe it's time for me to sleep. We need to be back at Vincennes early tomorrow morning."

"Understood," Masaya nodded, stepping back. "Good night, Rise."

Rise turned, but stopped halfway and looked back at Masaya. To his surprise, she leaned forward suddenly and actually laid a kiss on his cheek, blushing the entire time. With a small bow, she said, "Good night, Masaya-san," then walked out of the room quickly.

Masaya placed a hand on his cheek, smiling. "Good night, Rise."

…

...

...

 **0o0o0o0o0o0**

 **And cut. This chapter is only just over 6,500 words. Truthfully, I already have over 65,00 words written, but I'm not going to post it all immediately. Instead, I plan to update this and my other story, Princess Grisaia, weekly, on Mondays and Wednesdays. I won't be writing anything for either, so the in-between days will be used to continue writing the other stories I've neglected, especially my Naruto/Prototype crossover.**

 **Anyways, please leave a review of this and tell me if you liked it. I've only gone over it on my own, but I appreciate any criticism.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Masaya groggily woke up, blinking as the morning sun glared into his face. He quickly reached out and pulled the curtain down, cursing himself for forgetting to do so the night before. Standing and stretching this way and that, he made his way to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Just as he finished, however, his nose twitched as he realised he could smell… eggs?

Immediately activating his footstep silencer, Masaya made his way to the door and activated Smart Vision, allowing him to see through the wall. He immediately spotted someone standing at his kitchen, looking around furtively before seemingly grabbing something and putting it by the counter next to the stove. The person repeated this action four or five more times before they faced the stove once again.

A quick glance to the wall that separated his room from the guest one easily identified who the person was.

With a small smile, Masaya carefully opened the door when he was sure Rise wasn't looking and slipped outside, closing it just as silently. With his footstep silencer still on, he crept to the kitchen.

…

Rise had been having a bit of a strange morning, for her anyways. She had woken up in an unfamiliar room and nearly freaked out until she remembered just where she was. A quick check on her clothes later, she had jumped in the shower and gone through her usual morning routine, all the while thinking of whether Masaya was awake yet. She hadn't heard a sound from his room, or from the kitchen, so it was safe to assume he was still asleep.

Having showered, brushed her teeth, and dressed, she walked out of her room and realised that either he was still asleep or he had gone out. After pressing her ear to his door, she realised it was the former because she could hear his breathing. She crept as quietly as she could to the kitchen, planning to simply get a cup of water, but after she entered it, an idea struck her.

Why not make some breakfast for him, at least as a thank you?

She had almost shaken it off, as she didn't know where he kept anything here, but after checking the fridge and finding a fresh carton of eggs, she decided to go for it.

And now, here she was, cooking up some scrambled eggs. It had been a struggle to find all the necessary tools and ingredients to make a good breakfast, but she had persevered and found everything. She hummed as she watched the eggs, making sure they wouldn't overcook. Once they were a perfect gold, she quickly grabbed the pan and turned to the counter to put them on a plate she had placed there…

"Good morning."

… And nearly dropped the pan in fright when she came face to face with Masaya, who was standing at the entrance to the kitchen and smiling her way.

"Ah!" Rise squealed and jumped back, almost sending the eggs flying. "Masaya-san! Don't scare me like that!"

Masaya chuckled and stepped forward, carefully grabbing the pan from her shaking hand and tilting it so that the eggs fell onto the plate. "Sorry about that, I thought you would have heard me. I guess you were really into what you were doing. Speaking of, these look really good."

"O-Oh, thank you," Rise nodded gratefully.

Masaya simply smiled and said, "Are you usually an early riser?"

"Yes," Rise nodded as she turned back to the stove. "I have a habit of doing so in Vincennes."

"I see," Masaya nodded. "Any reason you're cooking up some perfectly golden scrambled eggs? Not that I'm complaining; they look delicious."

"I just wanted to make you some breakfast, Masaya-san, as a thank you for yesterday," Rise responded truthfully, checking the slices of buttered bread she had placed in the toaster.

"Is that so? I told you that it was my pleasure; you didn't need to do this," Masaya said as he leaned against the counter.

"But I wanted to," Rise countered.

"But you didn't need to. I also see where this is going, so let's not continue the argument. Just… thank you."

"Much like you said yourself, it was my pleasure, Masaya-san," Rise said with a smile.

…

A few minutes later, the two teenagers sat at the table, empty plates in front of both of them.

"Wow…" Masaya whispered. "I have half a mind to try and convince you to stay just to keep having more of that tasty breakfast."

Rise giggled at his words.

"I really should be getting ready, though," Masaya spoke, standing and checking the time, which was 8:42 am. "It should take me no more than an hour to pack, plus the time I need to shower, so I'd say by ten we should be heading out. Is that alright?"

"It's just fine," Rise nodded.

With a similar nod, Masaya helped her clear the table and start the dishwasher, then went to get himself ready.

…

Just as he had predicted, Masaya and Rise were ready to head out at nearly 10. Masaya, shades and standard outfit on, had a large backpack hanging on his shoulder, while Rise had a small bag in her hand.

The two of them exited the apartment complex and headed for the bus stop, taking the first one that would take them to Vincennes just as it was arriving. The ride took no more than twenty minutes, and the two of them exited the bus and were in front of the Vincennes gates by 10:30.

Unfortunately, the Gardiane officer that met them at the gates was the same one that had led the team that went after Rise the night before.

"You!" the woman immediately yelled when she caught sight of Masaya, preparing herself to attack him. However, this time, Rise defended him instead of the other way around.

"Officer, please, hold it," she said in her most authoritative voice. "You wouldn't want to attack our new transfer student, would you?"

"What?!" the woman exclaimed, looking between Rise and Masaya with wide eyes. "H-He's-."

"Yes, he is, or will be, at the very least," Rise spoke. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I need to speak to my grandmother."

And with that, Rise led Masaya through the gates, leaving behind a startled Gardiane officer behind.

"Gutsy move," Masaya commented, looking around and scanning the area as he had been conditioned to do by his job.

"Yes, well, she had no right to try and attack you when you were just helping me yesterday," Rise huffed.

"Technically, she did," Masaya said. "Remember that they were just upholding the rules, and with you being a little delinquent, it was their job to go and capture you. In a way, I helped you continue breaking the rules."

"Oh, that's right," Rise said, as if she were just coming to that realisation herself.

"Haven't even been properly transferred and I'm already breaking rules. There must be a record for that," Masaya said, and both of them laughed. Masaya's laughter, however, stopped when he and Rise passed through a thicket of trees and ended up on a straight path, which was lined with sakura trees. "Wow… this is beautiful…"

"It's even more amazing at night," Rise commented with a smile. "Had we come last night, you surely would have been impressed."

"I don't doubt it," Masaya said as they continued their walk.

…

Thankfully, they encountered no other students on their way to the chairwoman's office, but when they arrived, she wasn't there.

"Well, maybe she is with Madame Headmistress," Rise muttered to herself, immediately leading Masaya to another building. This time, she led him to a pair of large doors, on which she knocked.

"Enter," a predictably female voice came from inside, and Rise entered first.

"Madame Headmistress, Grandmother," Rise spoke, bowing.

"Ah, Rise," an elderly voice spoke, belonging to Rise's grandmother. "Is something the matter?"

"I have found him," Rise said excitedly.

"Huh? Found who?" the headmistress questioned.

"The transfer student!"

Both women gaped at Rise.

"Where is he?" Rise's grandmother asked, immediately becoming serious, while the headmistress just continued gaping.

"Huh? He's right here…" Rise realised that she was alone and smiled slightly. "He must have stayed outside for now. You may come in, Masaya-san!"

Silently, Masaya appeared in the doorway, his sunglasses and outfit giving him a somewhat foreboding appearance. He stepped towards Rise, his steps quiet in the silent office, and stood at her side, bowing. "My name is Okonogi Masaya. A pleasure to meet you both."

Silence echoed in the room, broken only by the breathing of the women and man. The silence was then further broken by a cold voice.

"Rise… did you forget that your scouting time expired some time ago?" the headmistress spoke, ignoring Masaya.

"Now, now, Madame Headmistress," Rise's grandmother stepped in, since it seemed that Rise had no immediate counter for that. She turned to the two young ones. "She is correct, however. Rise, would you tell us how you met this boy?"

"Certainly," Rise agreed, quickly explaining what had happened last night from her perspective. Once she reached the part where she stayed at Masaya's place, however, she stopped and looked at him as if asking for something, which he understood.

"Once she explained the situation to me, I decided to accept," Masaya continued where she left off. "I could see that Rise cared a lot for Vincennes, and I wanted to help her reach her goal. More than that, though, is the fact that I hadn't been able to continue my schooling officially due to some… circumstances."

"What circumstances?" the chairwoman asked, thoroughly curious. The headmistress said nothing, merely boring holes into Masaya with her eyes.

"A little more than a year ago, I was… nearly killed in an explosion," Masaya said haltingly, shocking both women. "I was in the hospital for a long time, and after two months of intensive surgery, I was asked if I would participate in an experiment that could potentially save my life. I agreed, and as such, I was given… prosthetics." Sitting his backpack down, Masaya reached up and took off his jacket, tossing it on top of the bag.

Both women were further shocked when they saw Masaya's mechanical arms. Rise's grandmother was the first to react, asking, "But… how did these prevent you from going to school?"

"They didn't on their own," Masaya said vaguely. He explained that he was contacted by a security firm that wanted him to work for them, at the same time explaining that they were involved in the experimental surgery. "I know that it was they who were funding the project. I joined a security team at the firm, and for the last year and a half, I've been working with them. That is what prevented me from studying, but I believe that Rise was truly lucky, since, two months ago, my commanding officer gave me some time off for me to do as I wish. I believe that continuing my education would be a good way to do so."

The headmistress and chairwoman were both in shocked silence at Masaya's explanation, and as such, it took some time for them to respond. Surprisingly, it was the headmistress.

"Okonogi Masaya… Should we accept you into Vincennes, how do we know what grade level to place you in?"

"I could take a test," Masaya proposed. "Just because I wasn't attending school doesn't mean I slacked off. I kept up with my grade level of material, so I believe that I'm comfortably at Rise's level of schooling."

The headmistress nodded, then said, "That is appropriate."

…

It was about half an hour later when Masaya was once again standing in the office, this time in front of a shocked group of board directors, the headmistress and Rise included.

"A perfect score on a Final Course first year end of year exam?" one of the directors exclaimed. "Amazing! Rise, I believe you have truly succeeded."

Rise beamed at Masaya, who smiled back. He was on the defensive at the moment due to the hostile looks being sent his way, mostly by the headmistress.

"Very well then, Masaya-kun," the chairwoman declared with a smile. "I believe you have all of the necessary requirements for a transfer student. As such, I welcome you to Vincennes!"

Some clapping followed her statement. Masaya bowed, saying, "Thank you, Madame Chairwoman."

After that, the chairwoman personally explained to him the terms of his stay. He would study and be essentially another student, but his main role would be to allow the rest of the student body to interact with him so that they may have a more detailed idea of what having boys studying at Vincennes would imply. Besides that, he would have until the middle of the school year, where the students would decide through a vote whether he would stay for the rest of that year. The Grande Vote that would decide if integration was to be implemented would be made at the end of the year. Should the integration idea not pass, Masaya would naturally not be allowed to return for the next year.

Besides that, he was advised to simply take this as another school year, something that Masaya couldn't quite take to heart. It had been more than a year since he has last attended a school, and now the one he was attending was filled with only girls. How exactly was this just 'another school year'?

Regardless, Masaya accepted the responsibility. He was given a cell phone, a folder filled with papers, and a key, then released, with Rise being assigned to show him to his room. Tomorrow would be the start of the new school year, and as such, he would need to be introduced to the rest of the student body, an event that would happen early in the morning and be done by the chairwoman.

The pair of teenagers walked mostly in silence to the dormitory where Masaya would be staying, which was the same dormitory that all Final Course students resided in. Rise would sometimes point out a landmark or a building with which he could orient himself if lost, of which Masaya kept track of. Thankfully for him, his infolink was able to store map data, so one long glance at the map he had been handed and he was good to go.

Arriving at the dormitory, Masaya and Rise walked to Masaya's assigned room, number 112. Masaya unlocked the door, and together, they entered the room.

"Huh... pretty spacious," Masaya commented, dropping his bag by the bed and looking around. The room seemed to be just enough for one person, with a kitchen and bathroom. He kept in mind where the windows were positioned, in case of an emergency situation. Finally, he turned back to Rise and said, "Nice place. So this will be my room... probably only for the next few months?"

Rise looked down, feeling guilty.

"Why didn't you tell me that there would be a vote in the middle of the year that would decide if I stayed or not?" Masaya asked Rise, a hard edge to his voice.

"B-Because," Rise stuttered momentarily. "I felt that... you would refuse if I said so, and I was desperate at that point. I'm so sorry!"

Masaya sighed as he watched Rise bow. Maybe he'd been a bit harder than intended. Walking forward, he put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Straighten up, Rise." The girl did, her eyes looking into his shades, which he retracted. "I'm not mad, just a little annoyed. I don't like going into a mission when I don't have all of the necessary information. Just keep that in mind, alright?"

"Yes, Masaya-san," Rise said, her voice low.

"Hey, come on, lighten up," Masaya spoke with a smile. "That's passed, and I'm not angry, so let's not get down, okay?"

Rise nodded and composed herself, taking in a deep breath. After a moment, she smiled at Masaya. "You're not one to hold grudges, are you, Masaya-san?"

"Only when it's a cute girl like you, Rise," Masaya responded with a smirk, predictably making Rise blush and look away in embarrassment. With a small smile, he shrugged off his coat and hung it on the back of a nearby chair.

The next few hours were spent with Masaya and Rise simply talking about themselves. Rise spoke to Masaya about her upbringing in Vincennes and of how difficult it was for her parents to visit because they lived in Tokyo. Masaya, in return, spoke to her about some of his missions and duties, plus about what he remembered of his childhood.

They talked much of the early afternoon away, but around 4, Rise excused herself.

"I have to finish preparing myself for tomorrow. I will see you then, Masaya-san," Rise said with a smile and a small bow.

"Yeah," Masaya nodded, walking her to the door. Once she was gone, he closed it and leaned against it, whispering, "See you tomorrow... Lis Branche."

...

 ** _"Come on, lend me..."_**

 ** _"Masaya, run! You...!"_**

 ** _"Light it..."_**

 ** _..._**

The next morning, the resident ladies of Vincennes' Final Course dormitory received a massive shock when they witnessed a _male_ exit a room in their dormitory. Their shock was mostly quiet, as they simply stared at the young man and sized him up.

Masaya, meanwhile, ignored them, as they weren't part of his objective just yet. Dressed in a short sleeved, button-up white shirt with a red tie, along with black slacks and his usual black jacket, he made sure he had his shades on and that his backpack was comfortable on his shoulder before walking down the hallway and out of the dormitory while still ignoring the girls around him, an action that couldn't be imitated by the girls he passed due to his stature.

As he exited the dormitory, his façade became harder to sustain, as there were a whole lot more girls around here than inside the dorm, and they all immediately focused on him. Thankfully for him, their relative inexperience with males led them to avoid his immediate path, leaving him with a relatively unperturbed walk.

Halfway to his destination, he was pleased to find Rise, who was talking with a gaggle of girls. He approached slowly, trying to make himself as least threatening as he could, but even then, almost all of the girls there ran when they spotted him approaching, most giving him glares. The only ones that remained were Rise herself and a younger, navy-haired, girl holding a bible, who gazed at him with some coldness.

"Ah, Masaya-san," Rise said, bowing slightly. "Good morning."

"Morning, Rise," Masaya greeted. "Oh, sorry, it's supposed to be Rise-san, right?"

"Yes, though truthfully, I did not mind the lack of honorific," Rise admitted.

"I'll keep that in mind," Masaya nodded, turning to the unknown girl. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure yet, though that's to be expected. Okonogi Masaya, Final Course second year transfer student." He stuck out his hand, and the girl shook it carefully, keeping her calculating eyes on him.

"Kitamikado Ritsuko, Final Course first year," she said, her voice low.

"Good to meet you," Masaya nodded, releasing her hand and turning back to Rise. "Well, I should get going. I'll be seeing you later."

And with a nod, he went on his way, leaving the two girls behind.

"So that is our new transfer student," Ritsuko commented.

"Indeed," Rise said, a small but noticeable proud edge to her voice. "He is a good man."

"How are you so sure?" Ritsuko asked, curiosity in her voice.

"He rescued me," Rise explained. "I had been cornered by the Gardiane and was almost taken back to Vincennes by force. I tried to ask for help, but everyone I asked walked away quickly... except for him. It was almost like a godsend. A boy who was of age and not in school just showed up and helped me get away from the Gardiane. He was such a gentleman too."

"I see..." Ritsuko murmured, her eyes looking back to where Masaya had been.

"Come, we should get moving, or we will be late," Rise urged the girl, and both went on their way as well.

...

Masaya was currently standing in a side room of the gymnasium, going through what he was going to say in his mind. The chairwoman was out in the gym proper, explaining to the Maidens of Vincennes the situation that had brought him here and of how he had been accepted into Vincennes.

"... Now I believe it is time to introduce him. I want you to greet your new classmate... Okonogi Masaya."

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!"

The sudden exclamation startled Masaya, and he was sure that it startled everyone in there as well. Regaining his composure, Masaya exhaled, put his shades on, and exited the side room, walking with shoulders high towards the chairwoman. As he had expected, he was met with bewildered and shocked looks, and he was sure half of them were because of how he looked, the others because he was a male. Once he reached the chairwoman's side, he turned and looked over the gathered girls, crossing his arms for the moment.

"Masaya-kun here will be our transfer student. As you know, he will take classes as any other student. You are encouraged to interact with him, as you will be the ones to decide if he will stay with the vote at the middle of the year. Masaya-kun, would you like to say a few words?"

Masaya thought it over, then said, "Actually, yes." Once the chairwoman handed the microphone to him, he began. "There's only two things I want to do. The first is introduce myself. My name is Okonogi Masaya, I'm 19 years old, and I like potato chips." The stunned silence that ensued almost made him crack up laughing, though he contained it. Watching the chairwoman at his side giggle was good enough. "The second thing is... much more serious." With a few quick movements, he slid off his jacket and rolled up his shirt's sleeves, approaching the seated girls so that they could see well. A massive gasp rang out from the gathered girls, made up of a multitude of smaller ones. "Due to an accident some time ago, I have relatively advanced prosthetics on my entire body. The reason I'm telling and showing you this is not for pity, but because I'd rather you hear it from me than from any secondary source. Trust me..." Masaya withdrew his glasses, looking over the gathered girls with a powerful gaze. "I've had enough pity thrust on me to last me a lifetime. If that's what you plan to do, please save it. Other than that," Masaya suddenly smiled, "I'll be happy to talk to anyone. Friends aren't something I have a lot of."

With those words, Masaya handed the microphone back to the chairwoman and put his long jacket back on as the woman dismissed the students. He could feel the penetrating gazes of the girls boring into his head, but he ignored them once again. Once they all filed out, Masaya spoke.

"Do you think that was good, Madame Rousenin?"

"I believe you did the correct thing, Masaya-kun," the chairwoman responded. "However, you must be prepared, as I believe that they will now be incessantly curious as to the origin of your prosthetics."

"I realise that... but I'm ready," Masaya said in a low voice, picking up his backpack and heading out of the gym.

...

The walk to his classroom was much calmer than the walk to the gym due to the fact that the girls had already made their way to their classrooms. He was walking with his head down, deep in thought, and as such, he reacted quite strongly when someone suddenly tapped his shoulder.

He twisted quickly, one hand clenching into a fist and the other prepared to extend his blade, before he realised that the one that had come up behind him was a nun. A nun that was quite startled at that.

"Oh... sorry about that," Masaya said, quickly retracting the inch of his blade that had extended. Thankfully, the woman hadn't noticed. "It's a bit of a habit now. I don't do well with being startled, but I was lost in thought."

The woman composed herself, taking a deep breath, before looking at Masaya critically. "Is this instinctual reaction tied to the incident that occurred to you?"

"I can see why you'd think that, but no. It's actually because of my job," Masaya explained shortly, tilting his head in question. "May I help you with something?"

"Ah, of course," the woman nodded as if being reminded of her objective. "My name is Sister Mishima. Masaya-kun, I was set to be your homeroom teacher, so I figured it would be best to get to know you a bit on the way there."

"I see," Masaya nodded, turning back around. "Well, we should be going, Sister Mishima. Don't want to be late on my first day, you know?"

"Of course," Mishima responded with a double eye smile. "Shall we?"

Together, they set off down the path, with Mishima asking Masaya about things such as his dislikes, hobbies, and other things.

...

"So, Masaya-kun," Mishima asked some time later as they approached the classroom. "I'm quite curious. You mentioned your job earlier. What is it you do?"

"Oh, that." Masaya dug into his left back pocket, pulling out his wallet. Opening it, he showed Mishima his identification card, which had a badge, serial number, and rank inscribed upon it. It had been given to him by his superior officer at his job. "I work for a security team hired by the firm that funded the program that gave me these augmentations. Basically, I work for the government."

Mishima was quite surprised. It wasn't often you met a nineteen year old security guard.

"I'm currently on temporal leave because of school, but I could be recalled at any time if they need me. I explained that to the headmistress and the chairwoman already, so they know I may need to leave at any moment," Masaya finished, putting away his wallet.

"I see," Mishima said, nodding her head. "Isn't that a bit bad for your studying?"

"It's fine," Masaya reassured her. "If I miss anything, I can always study up on my own. But I can't quit. Not just yet..." Masaya trailed off, and Mishima understood enough to not ask any more questions.

The two of them had arrived at the classroom, 2-C, some time ago, but never actually went in because the subject of Masaya's job came up. Masaya, however, knew that the girls inside had heard every word they had spoken, as he had heard them become silent upon hearing their voices outside the door.

With a small shrug, Masaya slid the door open, walking inside calmly. Sister Mishima followed behind him, smiling at the girls, who were all staring at Masaya with varying looks of surprise and scepticism.

"Good morning, girls," Mishima said.

"Good morning, Sister Mishima," the group chorused.

"Would you all please go to your proper seats?"

With just that, the group of girls rearranged, with only one or two girls staying right where they were.

"Impressive," Masaya comments, looking over the girls and spotting a few open spots, though with his stature, it would be best for him to sit as far back as possible.

"Now, girls," Mishima said once she got to the lectern. "Masaya-kun here will be your classmate for the next few months. Masaya-kun, where should you sit...?"

Mishima seemed to have asked that question to herself, but Masaya responded anyways. "There's an empty seat near the back. I could take that one."

"Do you really want to sit back there? It looks like you'll be all alone," Mishima said.

"As painful as that sounds," Masaya said with a mock sad tone, which became serious a moment later, "it's not so much that as it is the fact that I'd probably make it hard for anyone else to see the board due to my height. So that seems like the most plausible idea."

"Ah, you're correct," Mishima said, looking Masaya up and down. "Very well, Masaya-kun, take a seat then."

"So I will," Masaya bowed slightly then made his way to the seat. The girls to either side of him gave him a wide berth, but he paid them no mind. He did smile, however, when he noticed a familiar face to his right, about three seats ahead of his own.

"Hello, Rise-san," he said, smiling at the pink-haired girl. "I'm glad to see one familiar face here."

"I'm happy you think so," Rise smiled at him. She suddenly pouted. "There is an empty seat next to me, you know."

"I noticed, but I don't think the girl behind that seat would like to have her view blocked, hence my choice," Masaya responded, smirking when he noticed said girl blush a little. "We'll talk more after homeroom."

With a nod, Masaya continued down the aisle and took his seat, pulling out a plain notebook and a pen. Useful as they might be, they were more for show than anything else, as the chip in his head could store all of this information easily.

...

Once homeroom ended, Masaya closed his notebook, which hadn't been written in, and crossed his arms, keeping his glasses on to feign sleep. Or so he would have, had Rise not stood from her seat and come down to the one next to his, bringing her things with her.

"Well, hello, neighbour," Masaya said jokingly as she sat down. "You come around here often?"

"Not particularly," Rise responded with a smile.

"I see," Masaya nodded, tilting his head. "Will you be alright here?"

"I'll be fine, Masaya-san. It's not the first time I've been at the back of the class."

"That so?"

Rise nodded.

"Interesting. Honestly, I didn't think you'd ever sit at the back, considering your popularity."

Rise's smile became a little strained when he said that, which he noticed.

"Celebrity life is hard, huh?"

"Somewhat, but I don't mind," Rise assured him.

The conversation ended there, as the teacher had arrived.

...


	3. Chapter 3

"Shall we go to lunch, Masaya-san?" Rise asked with a smile when the lunch bell rang.

"Certainly," Masaya agreed with a smile, standing and following Rise out amidst a chorus of whispers.

The entire walk to the lunchroom, Masaya could feel someone staring at him, but whenever he looked around, he couldn't spot anyone specifically. Almost all the girls were staring at him anyways so focusing on a single stare would be more than a little difficult. Instead, he shook off the feeling as best as he could and focused on his pink-haired companion, who was explaining how the lunch system at Vincennes worked.

...

Having gotten their lunches, both students sat at an empty table, which immediately became the centre of attention. Rise seemed a little irked by it, but Masaya didn't even react to it, simply digging into his ramen with gusto.

"Mmm... that's some good ramen," he said after swallowing, licking his lips a little and making Rise giggle.

"You're a truly fun person to be around, Masaya-san," Rise said as she dug into her own food.

"It's just part of my nature by now, I guess," Masaya said, finishing the ramen so quickly that Rise stopped just to stare. "Oof... wonder if I should go for seconds…"

With a mirthful shake of her head, Rise finished up her own lunch at a sedate pace. Masaya, meanwhile, looked around the lunchroom, making every girl that had been staring at the duo hurriedly focus on their food, something that made him inwardly laugh.

Even at the pace she was going, they still had plenty of time left before lunch ended. Before they could make plans, however, an interruption made itself known.

"Well, salutations!" A burgundy-haired girl suddenly appeared at their side, wearing an odd hat with cat ears and a tail on it, and having a camera hanging around her neck.

"Oh, Tamie-san," Rise said, a little shocked.

Masaya just looked between the two of them, his shades making it impossible for anyone to guess what he was thinking.

"So this is Vincennes' new transfer student," Tamie said, pulling up a chair and taking a seat while looking Masaya over. "Quite the interesting character, huh?"

Masaya said nothing.

"Okonogi Masaya-san, right?" Tamie asked.

"That's me. Who might you be?"

"I'm Nogi Tamie, top reporter of the news club at Vincennes. I'm also known as the **Sombre Scanner** ," Tamie responded with a little flirtatious wink, which seemed to irk Rise.

"I see," was all that Masaya said.

"Mind if I have an interview, Masaya-san?" Tamie asked suddenly, pulling out a microphone, a notepad, and a pen from inside her hat. "I'm sure everyone in Vincennes is dying to know more about you, all for their own reasons."

Masaya didn't respond for a moment, but when he did, all he did was ask, "What are you going to ask about?"

"About yourself," Tamie responded truthfully. "Your past, how you came to meet Vincennes, how you got your prosthetics, etcetera."

Masaya grimaced slightly when she mentioned that. His history was still a bit hard to speak about. More to delay a bit than anything else, he looked over at Rise, who seemed to understand his question.

"This is your choice, Masaya-san," Rise said seriously. "I know it's hard for you to talk about it, but I believe that it would be beneficial for you, as you would be able to become more known to everyone, which in turn would gain you more supporters."

"You think? I made it clear that I wanted no pity from anyone, and that's what I feel like I'll receive if I do open up about it. It's not... pretty."

"Then you just have to make it even more known afterwards, do you not?" Rise responded.

Masaya nodded, thinking about the pros and cons of opening up about his past. On one hand, it was true that he would seem more personable if he opened up. While he liked his secrecy, if he wanted to stay here, he'd need to have as many supporters as possible. On the other hand, he would be revealing something that he had worked hard to keep from as many people as possible. Could he really let go of it now?

Looking around discreetly, Masaya realised that many of the girls sitting nearby were listening to the conversation intently, and more than one had a deeply curious look on their face.

That cemented his decision. Rise was right. If he wanted to gain some more friends, he couldn't be so secretive.

"Fine... I'll do it," Masaya finally agreed, closing his eyes. "However... It's not gonna be now. Pass by my room after classes and I'll tell you then."

"That's fine!" Tamie agreed enthusiastically, the promise of a scoop bringing light to her eyes. "Around what time would be good?"

"The later, the better..." Masaya muttered. "I've never told this to anyone, so... it might take some time."

"Masaya-san, may I be there as well?" Rise asked a little timidly.

"Yeah, of course. I know you want to know, and I already denied you once."

Rise nodded gratefully.

...

Upon returning to the classrooms, the students had about ten minutes to relax before the teacher came. Masaya spent it at his seat, going through just how he would explain his life to Tamie.

Fortunately for him, a distraction would appear five minutes in.

The door to the classroom suddenly opened smoothly, and in walked a gaggle of girls led by a buxom blonde. Masaya didn't pay them attention, but he could hear and sense how the demeanour of all the girls around him changed.

Most of all, he could hear everyone saying the name 'Marika-sama' in either surprise or admiration.

"Now, now, please do not bow, everyone," a light voice said, its owner being the buxom blonde. "I have merely come to meet and greet our new transfer student personally."

The whispers immediately changed, becoming dubious and somewhat scornful.

"She came to see _him_?"

"Preposterous! He should have gone to see _her_!"

As the whispers continued, Masaya sighed and stood, giving Rise a reassuring smile when he saw her turn to him with anxiety in her eyes. Facing the group that had entered, he walked towards them, shoulders stiff.

The entire group of females sized him up, some of them taking steps back in what seemed like apprehension. The only exceptions were the blonde woman herself and a short-purple-haired girl just behind her, though the latter seemed to be more due to the fact that the blonde was in between them. The blonde seemed to be staring at his glasses, as if trying to find something.

"You wanted to see me?" Masaya asked when he was just in front of the woman.

"Okonogi Masaya-kun, I presume," the blonde said in her light tone.

"That's me. Who are you?"

"I am Myougi Marika, the student council president," Marika introduced herself with a very small bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, I suppose," Masaya responded, bowing as well, though only as much as she did.

"Are you adjusting to Vincennes well?" Marika asked when they both straightened.

"Well enough for having spent a day here," Masaya responded a bit sarcastically. "The different honorifics for different years rule was a little hard to get used to, but not overly so."

"I see," Marika says, looking Masaya up and down. "Masaya-kun, is it possible you could remove your jacket?"

Masaya sighs, grabbing the collar of his jacket. "I had a feeling _someone_ was going to ask me to do that. Surprising that it isn't someone from this class." With a small flourish, Masaya slid his jacket off, laying it on an empty desk to his right and leaving his arms from his biceps to his hands exposed.

Marika's eyes (and everyone else's) widen considerably when they see Masaya's augmentations up close. Marika, being the closest, approaches Masaya, her eyes scanning the arms constantly.

"May I touch them?" she asks when close enough.

Feeling a small sense of déjà vu, Masaya nods. Marika stands just in front of him and lays a hand on his right arm, sliding it up and down experimentally.

"Interesting…" Marika whispers, looking deeply at the augmentations. "And this is the only part of your body that is mechanical?"

"Actually, it's the other way around," Masaya says with a sigh. "Nearly every part of my body is augmented. My arms, legs, spine, brain, eyes, chest, and internal organs. Matter of fact, I believe there's only one part of me that's not augmented at all."

"And that would be?"

"A body part that shouldn't be spoken of aloud in front of maidens." Masaya couldn't see it, but he was sure that the girls of his class were all blushing wildly. Marika herself was fighting a blush, and her purple-haired partner was much less skilled in hiding hers. "Moving on from that, though, may I put my jacket back on? Or are you still curious?"

"You may, Masaya-kun," Marika nodded.

With a nod of his own, Masaya picked up his jacket and put it on, shaking his arms a bit to get the sleeves just how he wanted them. When he was set, he said, "Was there anything else you needed from me?"

"Not at all, Masaya-kun," Marika spoke. She seemed to want to say more, but Masaya cut her off.

"May I ask why you call me 'Masaya-kun' instead of simply 'Masaya'?" The augmented young man asked, his brows furrowed a little.

Marika seemed a little startled at his question, and spent a few seconds thinking about it before asking, "Do you dislike it?"

"Not particularly, but I don't remember us becoming close enough to warrant the use of first names, much less honorifics like that."

"I see…" Marika seemed almost disappointed, but a moment later, she stared into Masaya's eyes and asked, "Would you please remove your glasses, Masaya?"

With a nod, he retracted his glasses, and their eyes met. To the students around them, it seemed as if the air around them crackled with electricity as their wills clashed. Marika seemed to simply be testing how long he could hold the stare, but Masaya was willing to fight back.

In the end, a minute later, both Masaya and Marika closed their eyes at the same time, as if by some unspoken consent. Both parties smiled wryly, and Marika was the first to speak.

"I believe this year will be very interesting with you here, Masaya-kun…"

"I don't doubt it," Masaya responded, eyes still closed.

With that, Marika turned away and walked back to her group, who all gathered around her. Saying her goodbyes, she walked out of the room, and the students left inside the room all heaved sighs of relief simultaneously.

Masaya stood at his spot for a little while, his infolink storing the information that his social enhancer had gathered. The oddities of Marika's personality were interesting. According to Rise, she had to be a neutral party in almost any case, but her instant attachment of the –kun suffix to his name suggested that either she liked him on a personal level, or she liked him as a younger person like the chairwoman, and their ages weren't far enough apart for the latter to be true.

With a shake of his head, he returned to his seat and closed his eyes, making sure to process everything well. When he opened them, he wasn't surprised to see Rise standing just in front of him.

"Hi there," Masaya said.

Rise seemed a little annoyed. "What was that all about?"

"Just getting to know the student council president," Masaya responded in a dull tone of voice. "Weren't you literally in the room?"

Rise seemed to still be annoyed, but if there was something she was thinking about, she didn't voice it, as the teacher entered at just that moment.

...

By the end of classes, it seemed Rise had forgotten her earlier annoyance. As they walked out of the classroom, Rise grabbed Masaya's arm and said, "Masaya-san, would you accompany me to my grandmother's office?"

"Sure, but what for?" Masaya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The White Lily and Red Rose societies were called to her office after classes, and I believe I know why. So I think it would be best for you to be present," Rise explained.

On the way, she explained what the societies were and what their responsibilities entailed, finishing up just as they arrived at the room. Rise knocked lightly, then entered, with Masaya just behind her.

"Rise-san," a voice called out, a bit of irritation, "Why have you brought _him_ here?"

Both of them looked up at that, and found none other than the purple-haired girl that had accompanied Marika to their classroom earlier. She was looking at the pair incredulously, and the other students seated around the room were giving them similar questioning looks.

"Because, Mitsuki-san," Rise responded calmly, "If this meeting is about what I think it is, then he deserves to be here for it."

The two girls entered a standoff, with Masaya standing just next to Rise, a raised eyebrow being his only reaction.

"Now, now, girls," the chairwoman spoke in a placating tone. "Not to give favouritism, but Rise is right. This saves us time in having to explain it later to Masaya-kun."

Rise smiled triumphantly while Mitsuki frowned but said nothing. Both girls took seats with their respective associations, while Masaya simply stood next to the door with crossed arms and keenly observed, much like the security guard he was.

...

The meeting took a turn for the worse when it came to the White Lily Society's turn to speak about what they would do for this year. When Rise declared that they would be on the reform side, the other White Lily society members began to resign one by one, because of one simple reason.

They weren't all that interested in school reform.

In the end, the last White Lily member walked out the door, leaving behind a disillusioned Rise, with several blue ribbons in her hand.

"Well now, Rise-san," Mitsuki spoke in smug tones, "It seems all of your support has left you."

Rise said nothing.

"Now do you see how ridiculous your idea is? Vincennes is a girls' school. To think that it would become co-educational is ridiculous."

Rise still said nothing, and Mitsuki seemed set to continue, but she was cut off.

"That's enough."

Masaya had stepped away from the door and approached the no man's land between the associations, looking at Mitsuki with unreadable eyes due to his shades. Stopping exactly between Rise and Mitsuki, he looked at the latter and simply said, "Mitsuki-san, first of all, I had my doubts, but the way you spoke just now showed little sportsmanship and, above all, just sounded petty. Secondly, the claim that she has no supporters is false, considering I have yet to leave the room."

Everyone looked at Masaya with shock, not just at his words but at his serious manner of speaking. Mitsuki, reeling from his accusations, said, "You are not part of the White Lily Society, Masaya-san. What support could you possibly provide?"

"I don't care," Masaya said simply, looking back at Rise with a soft smile. "I'd help Rise-san with whatever she needed, not just because she's the one who brought me here, but because she's my friend, and I'd never leave a friend behind if I can help it. And in this case..." He looked back at Mitsuki with knitted brows. "I _can_."

The chairwoman could see the tremendous effect Masaya's simple words had, not just on her granddaughter, but also on the rest of the girls. Rise, she could see, had brightened up immensely and was looking at Masaya with a wide smile. Most of the Red Rose Society girls looked like they were trying to hold back 'aww's, and Mitsuki looked both doubtful and slightly angry.

"Madame Chairwoman, may we be dismissed?" Masaya asked, putting a hand on Rise's shoulder.

"You may, Masaya-kun. Good luck," the chairwoman said with a smile and a nod.

"Come, Rise-san. I think we have a lot of planning to do to succeed," Masaya said enthusiastically, walking to the door. Rise was one step behind.

...

Once they were outside, Rise immediately said, "Thank you, Masaya-san."

"Hmm?" Masaya asked, turning around to face Rise.

"For supporting me, and for the words you said."

"Oh, it was my pleasure," Masaya smiled. "Now, was I right in assuming we have a lot of work to do to succeed?"

"Yes," Rise nodded. "This will not be at all easy."

"Heh... I haven't had a good challenge in a while," Masaya said with a smirk, smacking his right fist against his left palm. "Though I prefer physical challenges, this will be kind of refreshing."

"I'm glad you think so, as you're the main person behind the integration movement," Rise said.

After giving Masaya a few explanations on what would happen the next day, they split up, with Rise going to the first meeting of the choir club and Masaya heading back to his room, where a surprise would be waiting for him.

...

Turning the corner to the hallway that led to his room, Masaya was surprised to see someone in front of his door, knocking on it. He was naturally wary, as he was with any unknowns, but none of his danger senses were triggering.

As he approached the person silently, he was about to open his mouth to say something when the person turned his way.

The words immediately died in his mouth.

"Masaya!"

"Ch... Chiho?!"

There was no doubt about it in his mind. The slightly chubby face; the colour of her eyes; those recognisable twin tails; and her general air.

It was his childhood friend, Sagisawa Chiho.

Masaya approached her slowly, scared that this was all a dream and that she would disappear right in front of his eyes. Chiho approached him just as slowly, drinking in his image.

"Is... Is that really you, Chiho?" Masaya asked, his throat dry.

"I should be asking you that, idiot," Chiho said with a small frown.

Masaya's mouth twitched, and a second later, he chuckled. "Yep, it really is you. No other girl that I know calls me idiot like that."

Finally, they stood in front of each other, only ten inches between their bodies. Chiho found herself having to look up, since Masaya was so tall that the top of her head was only level with his nose.

Suddenly, Chiho pulled back and slapped him right on his left cheek. Masaya could have avoided it, but he knew that he deserved it, and that Chiho needed this. It was still a stronger impact than he expected, but nothing that could topple him. In fact, all it did was tilt his head to the side temporarily.

Chiho said nothing, simply looking at him with tears in her eyes, so Masaya broke the silence. "I suppose I deserved that, didn't I?"

"Yeah... you did," Chiho whispered. "Why, Masaya?"

Masaya sighed and walked past her, unlocking his door and signalling for her to enter, which she did a moment later. He followed and closed it, turning back to her after it clicked.

"I'll explain it later. Tamie-san's coming in a bit, and I'd rather explain it only once," Masaya said as he approached her.

Chiho simply stood in front of him, a solemn look on her face. Without a word, she took a step closer to him and slowly placed her hands on his jacket, pushing it off his torso. Masaya let her, only moving his arms a little so it would be easier. Chiho gasped a little as his arms came into view, then immediately went for his button-up shirt, opening it. Masaya had opted against wearing an undershirt today, which left his torso in plain view once Chiho finished.

The twin-tailed girl gasped a little louder when she saw his chest. Her eyes roamed all over it, and her hands slowly pressed against it, tracing the edges of the burn marks on his entire torso. "This..." she whispered, moving her hands to where his skin and his prosthetic arms met.

"Yeah..." Masaya whispered, understanding what she tried to say.

"But... you're still..." Chiho whispered, her wide eyes hopeful.

Masaya smiled and reached, grabbing her wandering right hand and holding it in his own. "Yes, Chiho... I'm still me. I haven't changed, only grown. I'm still the Masaya that you met in that park years ago."

Chiho stared up at the young man, her eyes shining with unshed tears. With a small inhalation of air, she threw herself forward and hugged Masaya, crying on his chest unabashedly. They were alone in his room, which, like all the others, was soundproof, and as such, she didn't have to hold up the usual barriers she had around her persona. She could just… let it out.

"Oh! I'm so glad! I'm so happy to know you're okay!" Chiho cried against Masaya's chest, her tears permeating his shirt.

"Come on, Chiho. _I_ should be saying that," Masaya said lightly, holding Chiho's shoulders. "You have no idea how worried I was about you. When I came back and didn't see you around, I was almost ready to go on a manhunt, but since I noticed that your parents didn't seem worried in the slightest, I figured you were away or something. I'm happy to know I was sort of right."

"You idiot…" Chiho muttered, her tears stopping. She looked up at him. "Masaya… These prosthetics… Why did you get them?"

"That I'll explain-," Masaya was cut off by a knock at the door. "Right now, actually. Come in!"

Chiho sprang back as Rise and Tamie entered the room, both girls immediately giving the two odd looks when they saw them alone in the room.

"Masaya-san… Chiho-san…" Rise whispered.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, don't," Masaya said. "Chiho and I… We go a long way back. I'll explain more about it in the interview. Shall we, Tamie-san?"

Tamie nodded enthusiastically and moved to the coffee table, setting up her usual equipment while Masaya buttoned up his shirt and Rise and Chiho took seats alongside Tamie.

"Alright, Masaya-san," Tamie said, preparing her notepad. "Whenever you're ready."

Masaya sighed and, after a small mental countdown, he began.

"To start with, my early life wasn't very exciting. My mother was a nice woman who always made sure I had what I needed. My father was about the same, but he had two characteristics that are key points: he was an extremely smooth talker, usually being able to talk down and defuse even the direst situations; and he was also a compulsive borrower. He had a bad habit of borrowing money and never actually paying it back, and as such, by the time I was ten, he had amassed a large debt. Large enough to have the local mafia come after us to collect on it later on. By that point in my life, my mother had decided to divorce my father, and she wanted to take me with her in secret, since she knew that my father could easily talk any judge into giving him custody. However... I couldn't go with her. Not because of any circumstances, but because of my own stubbornness. Like almost any child, I saw my father as a good man, and I didn't want to leave him alone. My mother pushed and prodded me into going with her for a while, but I always refused to go, and in the end, she left both of us one night.

"Now, this is where things get a little trickier. My father still refused to get a job and actually try to pay back the loans, and because of that, a few years later, I was forced to get several part time jobs to support both of us. I had done a lot of things back then, from secretary work to construction to even cleaning skyscraper windows. It was tough, but it's what helped shape me into what I am today. But I digress.

"It was just when I finished my last year at Eitatsu Auxiliary School that my father finally cracked. Even he realised that the mafia group after us, the Goons, wouldn't hold back much longer, and because of that, he convinced me of the threat they had, and we fled Tsurugigaoka."

Pausing for a moment, he signalled to Tamie that he didn't want what he said next on record and turned to Chiho. "That's also the reason why I couldn't make it to our meeting, Chiho. The night before, my father had told me we were leaving, and he managed to convince me of the threat the Goons presented. Because of that, I was afraid that they would target you if they saw us talking. I planned to come back and apologise properly someday, but I'd rather you hated me and were okay than that you knew the situation and were possibly targeted. I'm sorry."

Chiho simply looked at Masaya, eyes neutral. She shook her head just slightly and motioned for him to continue, which he did.

"Anyway, my father and I left Tsurugigaoka in the dead of the night. I had no idea where we were going, but my father did. We took many trains and buses, crossing several towns and staying in inns for the nights. Three days later, we finally arrived where my father wanted: my mother's new house.

"I was, of course, ecstatic to see her, and I was glad the feeling was mutual. But the feeling was soured by my father, whose first action was to ask my mother for some money. She, of course, refused, not having any money to lend but mostly not wanting to help out a man who didn't want to help himself. She did let us stay the night, though.

"That night, I could hear the two of them arguing in the kitchen, but I tried to drown it out. It had taken some minutes, but I finally fell asleep. When I woke, though, it was very suddenly. I had almost jumped out of my bed, and at first, I wasn't sure why, but when I smelled the air, I understood why.

"My mom's house was on fire."

The girls gasped when he said that, and Masaya closed his eyes, trying to get every memory correct. He could still remember the suffocating feel of the smoke in the air, along with the image that he had found when he had stepped out of his room.

"I quickly pulled my shirt up to cover my nose and mouth, but by then, a lot of smoke had already gathered in my lungs, making it hard to breathe and making my movements sluggish. I stumbled out of my room, desperately trying to find a way out of the house but more focused on finding my parents. I had to almost break down my own door, and when I stepped out, I felt like I'd stepped into hell itself."

Masaya shuddered a little.

"The feel of that unbearable heat... and the overwhelming feeling of having no way out... it's extremely difficult to describe. But I persevered. I knew that if I found my parents, everything would be alright..."

...

 _Masaya jumped forward, just managing to avoid a piece of the ceiling that had broken apart and fallen. He immediately kept moving, coughing and hacking to get the taste of smoke out of his mouth._

 _"M-Mom! Dad!" he screamed, but there was no answer, just the sound of the roaring flames._

 _Suddenly, a small spark from a burning rug landed on his pajama pants, setting the leg ablaze. Masaya winced as he felt the heat burn his skin almost instantly. Desperately, he slapped at the fire, trying to put it out, but when he realised that his muscles all the way to the bone would be burnt off before he could put the fire out, he quickly took off the pants entirely, leaving him in boxers. He threw the pants away, watching as they landed on the floor of the living room and finished burning to a crisp. The young man winced once again as he felt the powerful burns the fire had left on his left leg. Reaching down, he felt the area and withdrew his hand immediately when a searing pain shot through his leg at the mere touch. Looking down, he realised that he actually_ could _see his bone! Reeling back, he looked around for something to help calm the pain._

 _"Wait... I'm in the living room..." Masaya realised. "The door should be just past-."_

 _Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a cracking sound just above him, followed by an extreme pain on his left shoulder. Masaya yelled out and fell forward, stunned by the pain. Reaching his right hand up, he felt his shoulder and winced, realising that it had been dislocated. Looking all around, he noticed a part of the ceiling missing just above him and deduced that that piece had fallen on him. Thankfully, it hadn't been his head._

 _The intense pain now clearing and sharpening his mind, Masaya frowned determinedly and began to walk forward, clenching his teeth when his right leg protested with every step. In only a few steps, he had reached the living room door, leaving behind him a maze of fire. The door was a standard wood one with a glass oval on the very middle of it, and through it, Masaya saw a horrifying image._

 _Being held back by a pair of tall men in black suits was his father. Just in front of him, standing smugly, was a somewhat shorter man with greying hair that was cut in a buzz cut style. The man had a goatee and a small moustache, both of which were also greying, and he was wearing an expensive-looking black suit with a red inner shirt. The man looked at Masaya's father and said a few words Masaya couldn't hear, but he thought he could read, 'you brought this upon yourself' on his lips._

 _Panic settling inside him as he saw the older man pull out a handgun, Masaya reached out with his good hand and tried to pull open the door. Unfortunately, it had jammed due to the heat radiating from the fire, and he was unable to do it._

 _The man raised the gun to his father's heart._

 _Desperate, Masaya threw his good shoulder against the door, trying to open it with brute force and wincing whenever he felt the jolt send a wave of pain through his dislocated shoulder._

 _The man looked up, apparently hearing the racket of the door being slammed. His father did as well, becoming even paler when he saw Masaya. He yelled something out, but Masaya couldn't hear him. From the movement of his lips, he figured his father was telling him to run._

 _But where?_

 _Masaya locked eyes with who he assumed was the boss, pleading without words, but the man only gave him one of the most cruel smiles he had seen..._

 _... before pulling the trigger, sending a bullet right through his father's heart._

 _"No!"_

 _..._

"I couldn't even form thoughts after I saw that. All my mind was focused on was the image of my father falling back from the impact of the bullet, landing on the floor on his back and not moving. I remember yelling out, but I was powerless, and by the time I managed to get outside, the three men were already leaving."

...

 _In the end, Masaya had taken a piece of wood near him and smashed right through the glass oval on the door, sending shards of glass flying. Carefully, he stepped through the opening, once again wincing when he felt the pain of the burn on his leg. As soon as he got his bearings, he looked around and gasped._

 _On the ground in front of him, laying one on top of the other, were both of his parents._

 _His mother was underneath, laying on her stomach, eyes wide and blank. On her forehead, crying blood, was a bullet hole._

 _His father was lying on his back on top of her, eyes and mouth wide open. He was gasping, whether because of pain or lack of air, or both, Masaya couldn't tell. The white shirt he was wearing was already heavily stained with the blood that was spurting from the hole over his heart. A moment later, and with a heavy gasp, his father became deathly still._

 _His legs becoming weak at the image, Masaya fell to his knees in front of both bodies, looking down and desperately hoping that this was all a dream. A sharp stab of pain from his leg and dislocated arm immediately shattered that hope._

 _He wanted to, he really did... but he couldn't cry. He was well past that point. The shock of his body, and the heat he had withstood, had drained his tear sacs._

 _What felt like an eternity later, Masaya finally looked up to where the trio of murderers were. They were staring right at him, almost as if daring him to do something, but Masaya knew he was powerless to do anything._

 _"Damn it... Damn it!" Masaya cried out, slamming both of his fists against the concrete and immediately regretting it when his dislocated arm complained loudly._

 _Finally, the boss turned around and said something to the man to his left, three words that Masaya heard clearly now that he was outside._

 _"Light it up."_

 _Not comprehending, Masaya watched as the three of them got into a black car. The man on the passenger side held his arm out of the window with something in his hand that he pressed. With that done, the car sped away._

 _The pieces suddenly clicking in his mind, Masaya turned his head back to the house, just in time to see a bright wave of light headed right for him._

 _…_


	4. Chapter 4

"I hadn't heard the explosion for some reason, but I remember seeing a bright wave of light before everything just disappeared under the amount of pain I fell under. Everything just went blank for me. Thankfully, emergency services arrived just a minute later, so I was taken to the hospital in time. From what I was told, I was so close to death that the doctors were surprised I'd stayed alive during the ride to the hospital.

"I remained unconscious for close to an entire month, and I was told the doctors did their best to keep me alive. Sometime after the month had passed, I finally woke up in a haze. The first thing I tried to do was, of course, move my body, but I found myself unable to, no matter what I tried. I was ready to panic, thinking I was being tied down, but a moment later, the doctor that had been operating on me had come in. All I focused on was the look of expectancy on his face. It was the face of someone who knew he had to give bad news.

"When he was at my bedside, he made sure I could understand him before explaining the situation to me."

…

 _"_ _Okonogi Masaya, correct?"_

 _"_ _That's me," Masaya responded, his voice scratchy._

 _"_ _Do you remember the accident that brought you here?"_

 _"_ _Uh… not a lot. I just remember…" Masaya went quiet, remembering just what he'd seen before his memory went blank._

 _"_ _Masaya," the doctor continued. "You were caught by an explosion that destroyed your house."_

 _"_ _My mother's house," Masaya corrected him almost absentmindedly. "I didn't live there, and neither did my father…"_

 _"_ _Right, your mother's house," the doctor backtracked. "According to the forensics and examinations at the site, it was described as an explosion caused by an explosive of some sort. It, combined with the gas tank in the basement of the house, destroyed the main floor of the building and expanded outward, catching you in the blast radius as well."_

 _Masaya stared at him without really seeing him. He figured it had been some kind of bomb, but to hear it… this was an extreme murder. There was no doubt about it._

 _"_ _Because of this, your body was severely damaged. The skin and muscles of your limbs were impaired harshly, and as such, we… had to amputate them."_

 _That made Masaya's brain reboot forcefully. Slowly, afraid of what he would see, Masaya raised his head up, and looked at himself._

 _…_

"The emotions I felt when I saw myself… I can't even begin to describe them. I had seen disabled people all my life, but I never thought I would ever become one. Now, that had become a reality. My legs went about as far as my knees, and both of my arms were gone, leaving behind only foot-long stumps stretching from my shoulders."

Masaya paused for a moment to go to the kitchen and get a bottle of water, offering the girls their own as well. When he came back with the four bottles, he downed half of his own before continuing.

"I remember falling silent for an entire day after that, simply trying to come to terms with my new situation. The day after, the doctor returned, this time with a choice."

…

 _"_ _Masaya, right now, you have two options available to you. Normally, we wouldn't even mention the second one, but with your situation, it is your choice and your choice alone. Path A is leaving the hospital once you fully recover, and with help from us and the government, you should be able to live on, relatively normally."_

 _Masaya could tell that he was trying to be positive for his sake, but it sounded strained to him. How could he possibly live on normally after this?_

 _"_ _Path B…" The doctor paused. "Your second option… is euthanasia. Are you aware of the term?"_

 _Euthanasia… mercy killing… the act of choosing that your death be administered painlessly by the doctor… Yes, Masaya knew that well. He nodded in response._

 _"_ _Good. I will not push this decision on you. You must make it yourself. I will give you as much time as you need to make the decision, Masaya." As he was leaving, the doctor turned back and gave Masaya an odd look. "Make sure you have no regrets in your choice."_

 _…_

"I thought about it for only a short time. I looked at the pros and cons of each choice. I… at first, I couldn't decide completely."

"Did you…" Tamie began to ask, and when Masaya nodded, she continued. "Did you actually think about ending your life?"

Masaya remained quiet, an answer all of its own. The girls gasped as they understood.

"I didn't just think about it," Masaya continued. "That was exactly what I had chosen… before a third option appeared."

…

 _As Masaya watched the doctor enter the room, he mentally braced himself._

 _He had made his choice._

 _"_ _Masaya, there's been a slight change in your situation."_

 _Well, there went that._

 _"_ _A change?"_

 _"_ _Yes. We received word from a donor that wished to give you a third option, if you so choose." Masaya could feel the slight contempt the doctor had at these words._

 _"_ _Who?"_

 _"_ _A security firm known as Sarif Industries," the doctor explained. "They are a large American corporation that specialises in prosthetic limbs, amongst other things."_

 _The pieces began to click in his mind._

 _"_ _They want to pay for me to receive prosthetics?" Masaya asked, dumbfounded._

 _"_ _Yes," the doctor responded. "And not just any prosthetics."_

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_

 _Instead of verbally responding, the doctor showed Masaya the clipboard in his hands._

 _…_

"On that paper was written a letter, addressed directly to me, from the Japanese extension of Sarif Industries. I don't want to explain the whole thing, so I'll summarise: they wanted to hire me as part of a specialised security force made up of people like me, who had lost limbs, and sometimes their overall lives because of it, and wanted a chance to continue. They would pay for me to receive extremely advanced prosthetics, called augmentations by them, and after I had grown accustomed to them, I would be brought in for training and work."

…

 _Masaya remained quiet as he finished reading the letter._

 _It was almost too much to process. A company that specialised in prosthetic enhancements wished to pay for him to receive a large amount of augmentations on his entire body in order to hire him for their security firm as a specialised soldier. It was amazingly convenient, and because of that, he felt wary of it._

 _"_ _How long do I have to make a choice?" Masaya asked the doctor._

 _"_ _A week," the man responded shortly._

 _Masaya nodded and leaned back on his bed, thinking things through._

 _…_

 _After two days, he made his choice. Calling in the doctor, he said, "Doc, call up Sarif Industries. I accept."_

 _"_ _Are you sure, Masaya?" the doctor said worriedly, and Masaya could see the nurse behind the man giving him a similar worried look._

 _"_ _I am," Masaya nodded. "This is my only chance to find the man that took away my family from me and left me in this state. But more than that…" Masaya closed his eyes and smiled wistfully. "This is my only chance to return to my life somewhat normally, and if their prosthetics can give me that, then I will happily work for them."_

 _The doctor and nurse looked at each other, then the man nodded at him. "Very well, Masaya. I shall call them and tell them your answer, and I will prepare the necessary room."_

 _…_

"I was given enough sedatives to knock out an elephant, given that the operation would be a largely invasive one. I had no idea what had been happening while I was under, but when I woke up… my world had changed. Quite literally, actually. Since they had implanted augmented eyes and a biochip in my head, my world was like a large monitor. I could see better, focus better, and even notice details I hadn't before. I tried to move my arms, but since I had just gotten them, it would take some time to get used to them. My legs were the same way.

"At first, my body felt heavy, but I knew that I'd get used to it, and I'd probably need to do some strength and core training to get my overall strength up to par. My body felt both dense and limber, and I admit that I was honestly confused beyond belief at first. I was given a booklet that detailed each of the augmentations that I had received, and let's just say… there were a lot. I won't say them all, and as a matter of fact, I have yet to unlock every single one."

"Unlock?" Rise asked, perplexed at the term.

"Ah, right. Normally, I would receive augmentations as I went, but since I had already chosen my path of work, and because of my body, I had to have everything implanted immediately. In return, most of my augmentations would be locked at first until I had enough development to access them myself or I forcefully accessed them with chips known as Praxis kits.

"Back on track, though. The industry I'd signed up for had assigned a nurse for me to help me become accustomed to my new body parts, and honestly, I needed her at first. I wasn't used at all to my new limbs, and even walking was awkward. I'd sometimes knock things over while trying to grab them, and at other times, I couldn't even move at all. It was frustrating, but I persevered. I knew that I needed to get used to them as quickly as I could, and within three months, I was already running and jumping like these were my original limbs. I was told that I was an extremely special case, as not only was I getting accustomed to my limbs oddly quickly, but my body wasn't rejecting the prosthetics as it was wont to do with almost everyone else. You see, apparently the human body normally rejected prosthetics as advanced as the ones I had, and because of that, a drug had been invented that pushed back the effects of rejection. But even after three months, my body was not rejecting the prosthetics in the slightest. On the contrary, it seemed to bond even more deeply with them, making them become an even deeper part of me. I had grown to love them and accept them.

"But unfortunately, not everyone shared that view."

The girls frowned at his tone. It sounded like this was another dark part of his life.

"Once I was finally cleared, I was brought to the Japanese branch of Sarif Industries to begin my work. I was given several training sessions to see how I stood in several areas, then placed with a team to see if I could be a team player. In that instance… the issue wasn't my ability to play with others. It was their ability to play with _me_.

"You see, I had been placed with a team of regular policemen, not other security agents from Sarif Industries. And they… weren't the most welcoming kind. In fact, they outright rejected me at first, calling me names and overall belittling me, all because of my augmentations. I resented them for it, and when I had enough, I decided to leave them behind and finish the assignment myself. I managed it just fine, but that only brought more resentment towards me, as the other believed me to be a cheater due to the prosthetics. I didn't have the patience to correct them, so I simply ignored those that said so, but when I went out into the streets, I could see that they weren't the only ones who thought so. Standard civilians edged away from me, and at first, I couldn't understand why. Couldn't they see that I was still a person? I still had my mind and my soul. I hadn't become a robot, unable to feel and to enjoy things. But they didn't understand, and because of it, I slowly became more and more reclusive, until it came to a point where I rarely went outside if it wasn't strictly required.

"The months passed that way, with me simply doing the missions required of me. I had bought myself several books on many subjects so that I at least had something to do, and I believe, because of my isolation, I became a bibliophile of sorts. I began to study not just to keep up with my grade level, but to better understand why my body was the way it was. Why wasn't it rejecting the augmentations? To this day, I still don't know. Maybe it's because of my DNA, or maybe it was simply my mind-set. But either way, these limbs brought me to this point in my life. Would I turn back time if I could and change my decision? Well, if I could turn back time, I'd go back to the point where my parents were alive and avoid all of this entirely. But since I can't, I've accepted my new life, and I will live it to the best of my ability. I'm now stronger than I was before, and I have no plans to let my new life go to waste."

Masaya wrapped up and fell silent, breathing a little heavily. It was the first time he had ever opened up so much, and tomorrow, the entire school would know his situation. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but he knew that he needed to be ready.

"So, Masaya-san, how did you and Rise meet, then?" Tamie asked, flipping a page of her notepad.

Shaking his head in amusement, Masaya recounted to her the tale of their meeting.

…

"Well, I think that should do it," Tamie said, putting away her equipment and standing up. "I'll need to start working on this right away, so I'll be going now. Masaya-san…" With sure steps, she walked over to stand in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please believe that although I need to be neutral as a school reporter, I will always be your friend. You're a great guy, as far as I've seen, and I have no reason to doubt you just yet."

Masaya nodded and stood, bringing Tamie into a small hug that she reciprocated. The young man had to hold back a snort when he realised that he could easily lay his chin on top of her head, but she felt the small jump nonetheless.

"What?" Tamie asked.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" Masaya shook his head with a smile. "You're… short."

"What?! I'm not that short! You're just a giant!" Tamie exclaimed good-naturedly.

"That I am," Masaya agreed with a laugh.

After saying goodbye to the other two girls, Tamie left.

"Well… that's going to have some consequences," Masaya commented, turning to the other two girls.

Neither responded. Instead, Rise stood up and approached him, bowing at the waist. "I shall take my leave as well, Masaya-san. You have given me much to think about."

Masaya nodded, and with that, Rise left.

Chiho stood up as soon as the door closed, approaching him as well. "I'll be heading out too. Masaya, we'll talk tomorrow."

Masaya nodded to her as well, but unlike Rise, he drew her into a hug, one which she returned a moment later. "I'm really happy to see you again, Chiho."

"Likewise," Chiho responded in a breathy voice before leaving.

…

The next day, Masaya found himself under much scrutiny from the rest of the student body. The entire walk to his class, he was stared at continuously, and while he somewhat expected this, it was more than he thought it would be. Once he did reach the class, even Sister Mishima was staring at him, and he couldn't tell what was up, until he looked at a corner of the classroom, where a stack of newspapers were neatly piled up.

"Oh…" Masaya sighed. "Tamie-san works faster than a bullet."

Shaking his head, he took his seat and waited for the class to begin.

…

By the time classes ended, Masaya was seriously ticked off. This constant staring was annoying him to no end, and he was just glad he could escape it in Maria Hall, where not many students went unless they had business there, which he did.

Opening the door of the White Lily Society's room, he was met by Rise's gaze.

"Oh, you're already here?" Masaya asked. "You're quick."

"Of course," Rise responded with a smile. "Take a seat, Masaya-san."

"Don't mind if I do," Masaya responded, taking the seat closest to her, on her left. "So, what are we doing here?"

"Voting," Rise responded, pointing at a box that was sitting on the middle of the table. "I have already placed my name inside. If nobody else comes and applies, then I win the leadership of the society by default."

"How long do we need to wait?"

"Only half an hour."

The two passed the time chatting, and in a blink of an eye, the thirty minutes came and went.

"Well, I suppose I win," Rise said half-heartedly, looking around the nearly empty room.

"You do indeed," Masaya nodded. "So, now that you're the leader, what do we need to do, Milady?"

"Please don't call me that," Rise said with a laugh. "I'm not a queen."

"You sure? You certainly look regal enough to me," Masaya countered with a smirk.

"Ahem, yes, well," Rise coughed, blushing. "Now that the voting is over, we need to work on getting your overall reputation up, Masaya-san. Have you tried to socialise with the other students?"

"No. With all the staring they were doing today, I didn't have any inclination to talk to anyone just yet," Masaya responded, annoyance in his tone.

"Masaya-san, you need to work on socialising more," Rise chided lightly.

"I'll start once the commotion over the article is gone. I give it a week," Masaya responded with a sigh.

…

…

…

It was a week later, and true to Masaya's prediction, the staring had begun to die down. In that time, a lot about Masaya's school life had changed.

Now that he had made up with Chiho, she had joined the White Lily Society, mostly to try to keep him at school next year.

Along with that, Chiho had introduced him to her one true friend in the school, Kamiyagi Ruriko. The buxom blonde was arguably the most innocent of the girls in the school, but the way she phrased her words could give the opposite intent. She also had a penchant for jokes, so sometimes even Masaya would find himself thrown for a loop by what she said. Ruriko had joined the society as well, claiming that it was because she had a special interest in men, but nothing more. She had a pet, a white stoat she called Panterbell, who wore a ribbon around his neck and a top hat. Masaya had taken to calling him a 'smooth little bro', and the two had bonded quite quickly, much to Ruriko's delight.

Finally, he could see that many of the girls were slowly but surely warming up to him. Rise had asked the news club to run a weekly survey about Masaya's popularity in the school, and out of the 463 students that there were in the school, they already had a fourteen-person support, which was actually a great start according to Rise.

Currently, we find Masaya standing on the rooftop of the Final Course dormitory, a habit he had made after making his way there one evening. It was the best place to watch the sunset, an event that he always liked to watch.

Tonight, however, he would have some company.

As he stood by the edge, shades retracted and staring at the horizon, he picked up the sound of the door behind him opening. Turning his head slightly, he was aware of who it was by the blonde hair that entered his vision.

"Good evening, Ruriko-san," Masaya stated, looking back at the horizon.

"Salutations, Masaya-san," Ruriko returned.

"Kuu," Panterbell called out.

"And good evening to you too, Panterbell," Masaya smiled as he responded.

Panterbell slid off Ruriko's shoulder and trotted over to Masaya, easily climbing up his legs and torso to his head, where he proceeded to make himself comfortable.

"It seems he finds your head a nice place to sleep," Ruriko giggled as she moved to stand next to him.

"Yeah, I bet. I do like to keep my hair well maintained," Masaya responded, a sweatdrop falling on the side of his face.

"Masaya-san, why are you up here by yourself?" Ruriko asked semi-seriously.

In response, Masaya simply waved his hand over the horizon he was watching, where the sun was just about to start falling. "Just watch, and you'll understand."

Together, the two people and one stoat watched as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon and night fell. As it reached the halfway point, a breeze began to pick up, making Ruriko shiver, and Masaya remembered that she was only wearing a string nightgown. Carefully, so as not to shake Panterbell off his head, Masaya took off his coat and slid it around her shoulders with a smile.

"You do remember that it's just becoming spring, right, Ruriko-san?" Masaya asked good-naturedly.

"I sometimes forget," Ruriko smiled. "Thank you, Masaya-san."

"My pleasure," Masaya responded.

In silence, they watched the rest of the sun disappear over the horizon.

…

"So, how'd you find me?" Masaya asked as they walked down the stairs that led from the roof into the building.

"I saw you ascending the stairs after I left my room and simply became curious," Ruriko explained, Panterbell already back on her shoulder.

"I see," Masaya responded. "Well, if you ever want to join me again, you know where I'll be."

And with that, Masaya turned the corner where they would split and went to his own room. Predictably, he didn't hear Ruriko say a word about the jacket still on her shoulders.

"It's a good thing that's not my only one," Masaya murmured as he entered his room.

...

Over the course of the next two weeks, Masaya's life would become routine. He would get up, go to classes, then meet with the White Lily Society in Maria Hall after classes, and finally go to his room and usually do nothing else.

Near the end of April, however, a little event happened.

Masaya was sitting in class, arms crossed and eyes closed. Rise had stepped out for a moment and had yet to come back, so Masaya was waiting for the next class's start alone. However, before he could fall into a doze, his school-issued phone suddenly vibrated.

"Hmm? What's this now?" Masaya said as he pulled the phone out of his pocket. He quickly opened it and realised it was a message.

 **'Chiho is in trouble. Come quickly.'**

That was all it said. He didn't recognise the sender, and they left no name at the end of the message. A ton of questions ran through his mind. Why was Chiho in trouble? Who or what started it? He knew that Chiho wouldn't start a fight without a good reason. And who was this person that decided he should be the one to know about it?

The more he thought about it, the less it made sense. With a small shake of his head, he turned around slightly, making sure that it didn't seem suspicious, and used his Smart Vision to scan the wall of his classroom. The sonar-like augmentation quickly showed him just what was past it, though all he could see were silhouettes. Judging by their movements, though, it seemed like they were... changing clothes.

Figuring that it was for gym class or something, though he did find it odd that they chose to change in the classroom, Masaya deactivated Smart Vision and looked back at his phone with a frown.

Was this some kind of prank?

Someone had wanted him to stumble into class 2-B while the girls there were changing, possibly to defame him. Or perhaps it really was just a prank, though with his still shaky standing with the schoolgirls, it could have had some bad consequences.

Now fully determined, Masaya pulled open his phone and looked at it carefully. It didn't seem to have any special protections, and the only software protection he had found was a program that blocked outgoing calls and redirected them to the headmistress unless it was to a Vincennes phone. Checking to make sure no one was paying attention to him, he accessed the main screen of the phone and began to hack it carefully, making sure he wouldn't trip any alarms. It was a little tough, because, like everything else, Vincennes really went top notch with their security.

Unfortunately for them, Masaya had hacked into more secure networks before without being detected.

It took only a minute for him to gain complete access to the phone's infrastructure, and with that, he traced the message back to its sender. A small dot appeared on his sights, floating on the blackboard ahead of Masaya, meaning the sender was in the next classroom.

"2-A? Why...?" Masaya asked rhetorically. Deciding it was better to investigate personally, he stood and made his way out of the classroom, ignoring the curious looks of his classmates. With deliberately slow steps, he made his way to the class next door and slid open the door, immediately bringing all attention to him. The blip on his sights was centred on the pocket of a girl that was sitting halfway down the last row. Ignoring the rest of the girls, he went to the subject in question, a slightly dark skinned girl whose black hair was styled in a ponytail.

"Hello. Okonogi Masaya, though I'm sure you know that," Masaya greeted as he approached her.

"Salutations," the girl said warily.

At this point, Masaya bent down slightly, making sure that only the girl could hear him.

"I know this is an odd request, miss, and please keep your voice down, but may I see you phone?"

The girl stiffened a little and predictably asked, "Why?"

With a sigh, Masaya pulled out his school phone, pulled up the message, and turned the screen towards her. "Because I just received this message from it."

The girl read the message quickly, then shook her head and looked at Masaya with suspicion. "I never sent such an e-mail."

"Is that so?" Masaya asked rhetorically. "Humour me and check your phone, would you?"

The girl reluctantly did so, picking up her phone from where it lay on her desk and opening it up. Her facial expression went from scepticism to confusion as she checked her sent messages.

"It's there, isn't it?" Masaya asked.

Silently, the girl showed him the phone, where the sent message was clearly displayed. Masaya shook his head in annoyance and bent down once again.

"Are you certain you didn't send it?" he whispered.

"Yes, of course I am certain!"

Masaya studied her for a moment, not particularly caring that she was a little loud at this point or that the others were staring at him, then nodded. "Very well, then."

With that, Masaya straightened and looked around the classroom slowly. Out of all the girls he saw there, he only recognised one. Sitting three seats away from the girl was none other than Mitsuki. As he looked at her, Mitsuki turned her face away, and unlike the Mitsuki he'd come to know so far, she didn't meet his eyes or make a comment on his presence.

A conversation between Mitsuki and Rise from yesterday, for which the rest of the White Lily Society had been present, passed through his mind.

 _"Your opposition to integration... does it truly come from you?" Rise had asked._

 _"What do you mean?" Mitsuki had responded._

 _"That is Marika-sama's stance as well," Rise said in explanation._

In other words, Rise insinuated that Mitsuki couldn't think for herself anymore and only followed her Onee-sama. Could this be Mitsuki's way to try and prove her wrong?

With a shake of his head, Masaya turned back to the girl and gave her a small bow. "Thank you for your cooperation, miss. I'll see if I get to the bottom of this."

He then walked out of the classroom, amidst the stares of the girls, to which he had become pretty much accustomed. As he made his way back to his own classroom, Masaya began to ponder how he could get the truth out of Mitsuki, for he was sure she was the culprit, and if it was even worth it. The girl most likely wanted Marika's approval of her tactic, but if what he understood from his small talk with her was right, then he highly doubted she would approve of it. With a shrug, he decided to drop the matter for now.

"Whatever Marika decides should be good enough," Masaya muttered.

...

...

...

As April began to end, Rise brought up an important topic in one of their meetings.

"As you know, Chiho-san, Ruriko-san, the May Festival is coming up," she began, looking at the two girls at either side of her. She then looked at Masaya, who was sitting just next to Chiho. "Masaya-san, have you heard of it?"

"I've heard some people mentioning it, but that's all," Masaya responded.

"The May Festival is an event that the school hosts for the students to make up for not being able to leave the school during spring vacation," Rise explained. "The main event is an all-night dance party in the gymnasium, known as the Soirée Dansante."

"An all-night party, huh?" Masaya wondered aloud. "Sounds fun."

"It is, but in order for it to be fun, the associations submit one theme each to use for the party. It would be unbecoming to use the same theme every year, after all."

"I see. Is that the point of today's meeting?" Masaya asked.

"Yes. I need us to begin working hard to come up with a theme for the dance."

Silence permeated the air, as no one had any ideas on a theme.

"I supposed it would be a bit much to expect a theme immediately," Rise said sheepishly.

"What day is it, exactly?" Masaya asked.

"The fourth."

"And it truly lasts all night?"

"Yes," Ruriko responded, closing her eyes in bliss. "To dance with your preferred partner for an entire night… it feels almost taboo."

"I'm sure," Masaya responded in deadpan.

"Masaya-san," Ruriko suddenly said, looking right at him. "You will be my first, won't you?"

The entire room went silent at her words. They all understood what she meant, but with the phrasing…

"Gladly," Masaya responded with a smirk. "I shall also be your second and third if you wish."

"Oh, my, my," Ruriko sighed. "That would be most welcome."

"Ahem, well, then…" Rise coughed loudly to dispel the atmosphere, while Chiho simply looked between Masaya and Ruriko with an open mouth. "Y-You may dance with me as well, Masaya-san."

"Oh, marvellous," Masaya responded with a smile.

"Me as well," Chiho said quickly. "Just… try not to hurt me, okay?"

"Chiho, I'm not as bad a dancer as I was. Believe it or not, one of the things I learned in order to get better control of my limbs was dancing. I learned both slow and fast dances."

"I see. That's good, then," Chiho responded with a smile.

"Oh… this is quite a conundrum," Ruriko said wistfully.

"Why is that?" Masaya asked.

"Masaya-san, there is only one of you. We cannot all be your partner. And the decision of who goes first is of great importance."

A thick silence fell on the room.

"Is it?" Masaya asked.

"Of course."

Masaya nodded and crossed his arms. "I see."

"Masaya-san… I will not be satisfied unless I'm first," Rise declared boldly.

Masaya raised an eyebrow and looked at her in askance.

"You know how I hate to lose, right, Masaya?" Chiho said with a glare.

"Quite well, thank you," Masaya responded dully.

Ruriko was looking between her three friends cautiously, then suddenly brightened up. "That's it! I just had a great idea for the theme!"

"Oh? What is it?" Rise asked immediately, the tense air being broken by Ruriko's distraction.

Before Ruriko could elaborate, though, there was a knock at the door.

"Who could that be? Come in!"

The door opened, and in stepped Mitsuki, Ritsuko, and pretty much the entire Red Rose Society.

"Oh, all of you," Rise muttered in confusion. "Is there something we can help you with?"

"Not particularly. But I heard that you were discussing the May Festival and magnanimously decided to check on you," Mitsuki responded, head held high.

"Is that so? What part of that is magnanimous?" Rise muttered.

"Regardless, I came to tell you that you need not worry about what you will submit as a theme, as the Red Rose Society will allow you to submit it without competition. Isn't that right, Ritsuko?"

"Huh? O-oh, yes," Ritsuko responded in a flustered tone, confusion evident in her eyes. It seemed like Mitsuki hadn't discussed this with her beforehand.

"What's that supposed to mean? We don't need your charity," Rise responded with a huff.

"Now, now, do you really think you can turn me away so easily?" Mitsuki spoke in a smug tone. "The Red Rose Society has ten members, while you only have two affiliates."

"Two? We have three."

"Oh, yes, and Masaya-san, I suppose," Mitsuki said in a dismissive tone.

Everyone looked at Masaya to garner his reaction out of this, but his current action was a little unexpected. Masaya was staring right at Mitsuki, his shades preventing anyone from guessing what he was thinking. The stare continued for so long that Mitsuki was shifting uncomfortably.

"Yes, well, we have quality over quantity, right?" Rise said, looking directly at Masaya, who nodded.

"Of course. With Soleil D'Ecole and Bijou Bleu on our side, there's no way we'd lose," Masaya said with pure conviction in his tine, finally looking away from Mitsuki. "Not to forget Chiho, of course. She may not have a title, but that doesn't mean that Vincennes's fastest runner doesn't count."

Masaya had so much conviction in his voice by that point that even some of the Red Rose members were beginning to believe him, not that they'd admit it, of course. Mitsuki was looking a bit put out, while Ritsuko simply looked at the proceedings with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't sell yourself short, Masaya-san," Ruriko spoke up passionately. "You are quite amazing, you know?"

"Well, what am I?" Masaya asked rhetorically. "A nineteen year old cyborg security guard. I think that speaks for itself."

"Exactly," Ruriko said with a decisive nod.

"You're certainly high and mighty," Mitsuki said with a frown.

"Nope, just confident in our quality," Masaya responded.

"But we have both quality and quantity," Mitsuki continued with her smug tone. "With Belle Epine on our side, we have garnered one more member."

"One more?" Rise asked.

"Ah, she's not actually a member. I decided to emulate you and gained an affiliate of my own. Now, Konomi, introduce yourself."

At Mitsuki's words, a small, green-haired girl came out from behind the group and stood between Mitsuki and Ritsuko, head bowed.

"Um… Salutations. Yanase Konomi. Pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, Konomi… but, you're still in Intermediary," Rise said with a bit of wonder.

"Yes, but Mitsuki-sama said I could be an affiliate," Konomi said a little heatedly.

"Oh, no, I did not mean to belittle you. I forgot that Ritsuko was your Onee-sama."

"Yes, she is. But… that isn't the only reason," Konomi stated, and this time, she looked up, looking at Masaya, who raised an eyebrow. "It's… because of him."

"Me?"

...


	5. Chapter 5

"Me?"

"Yes! All men are filthy beasts, and I will make sure to protect my Onee-sama with all I have from your clutches. You hear me?! You come within three feet of my Onee-sama, and I will separate your head from your shoulders with my naginata!"

Silence permeated the room as everyone digested this. By the reactions of the Red Rose girls, it seemed like they hadn't heard about this before.

Masaya stared hard at the girl, then, surprisingly, his shoulders began to shake. The girls had to wonder what he was doing for only a second before he tilted his head back and began to laugh uproariously, startling everyone.

"Ahahaha! Oh, that's rich!" Masaya laughed, bending forward and lowering his laugh down to chuckles. "That's just… oh… oh, damn…!"

"Urgh! Why are you laughing?!" Konomi asked heatedly, feeling offended that he wasn't taking her seriously.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just…!" Masaya worked hard to get his laugh under control, then gave a meaningful glance at Rise, who now realised why he was laughing like that and frowned in understanding. Standing and shaking his head in amusement, Masaya approached the trio of girls. While Ritsuko and Mitsuki didn't move an inch and simply watched him, Konomi actually moved back partially, as if she was afraid of him. Masaya ignored her for the moment and turned to Ritsuko. "First of all, I want to quickly apologise, Ritsuko. My reaction was not meant to offend you, as you are quite beautiful."

Ritsuko blushed and nodded at him. "It is alright, Masaya-sama. I took no offense."

"Good." He turned his eyes to Konomi now, who was glaring at him for his words. "Konomi, the reason I laughed like that is because I felt almost flattered that you would consider me good enough to have Ritsuko as a girlfriend, if that was your intended meaning. If it was something else, then I do have to remind you that I am duty- and honour-bound to uphold the law due to my position, and as such, I would never harm anyone unless they were doing something unlawful, in which case, I obviously would."

The girls remained silent at this, not being able to counter his words.

"The reason I feel flattered, though, is… well, look at this." Masaya took his jacket off, allowing the girls to see his mechanical arms from the biceps down. "If you read the article Tamie-san printed out, then you'll understand that I felt extremely detached from the rest of the world because I was considered very different, and I couldn't exactly counter that claim back then. To hear you say that I could, to use a lower-world term, 'bag' Ritsuko, is actually flattering, and at the same time ironic considering my thoughts."

Konomi had no words to counter that, so she remained silent, but this time, she looked slightly pensive.

"Now, is there any other business to discuss? According to my clock, it's already time to disband," Masaya stated.

"Oh, you're right, Masaya-san," Rise stated, checking the time. "We shall continue this tomorrow."

…

As they were leaving the room, Masaya locked eyes with Mitsuki and nodded his head towards the doors that led outside. Mitsuki looked at him warily but complied, following him to the garden behind Maria Hall. Masaya waited until she was close enough, then leaned in quickly and whispered five simple words into her ear.

 _"_ _I know it was you."_

That sentence served to bring her down a notch, as she jerked back and looked at Masaya with disbelieving eyes.

"I didn't claim that I was a security guard lightly," Masaya says calmly. "However, I didn't want to take any action, as I trust Marika-sama enough to decide your fate."

With that, Masaya turned and began to walk away. Mitsuki, however, still had some wind in her sails.

"Do you have any proof it was me?" Mitsuki asked. "Anyone in my class could have sent that email."

Masaya smirked and nodded his head, then turned back halfway, his face somewhat covered by shadow. "How do you know I'm talking about the email?"

Mitsuki, realising her blunder, stepped back in shock.

"That just about proved it, but also, out of all of the girls in your class, you're the only one who would have any particular reason to try to bring me down a few notches in popularity. Mitsuki-san…" Masaya turned fully towards her, his smirk disappearing. "I don't take kindly to those that try to trick me, especially for superficial or idiotic reasons. If you plan to fight, then do so properly, or I will seriously doubt the quality of Vincennes raising."

With those words, Masaya left a shocked Mitsuki behind, heading back to his room.

…

The next day, the White Lilly Society met up as usual, and Ruriko was able to speak her plan for the May Festival.

"Easter Eggs?" Rise asked in confusion.

"Yes." That was all Ruriko said.

"Could you please elaborate?"

But Masaya, who had already understood what Ruriko meant, was the one who spoke.

"I get it. From what I remember, the Americans have a holiday where they hide plastic eggs filled with candy to find in a scavenger hunt, right?"

"Yes, though it is not only them," Ruriko explained.

"Sorry, but that's the only other culture I'm knowledgeable about," Masaya explained sheepishly. "So, what? Do you intend to hide eggs with candy as a game beforehand?"

"No, no, silly. Instead, you shall write your name on a piece of paper and place it in the egg, and then hide it. Whoever finds your egg will be your first partner for the night."

While the other two girls agreed and praised Ruriko for her thinking, Masaya crossed his arms and thought the plan over deeply. As the girls looked over at him, confused at his silence, Masaya opened his eyes and nodded.

"It's a sound idea, and I can see the appeal, but there's a small flaw: say, for example, I draw Rise-san's name. But then, you draw my name, Ruriko-san. As we're all in Final Course second year, how could we properly dance?"

The girls understood what he meant almost immediately, and all three put their hands to their chins in thought. Chiho was the one to break it.

"Why not go by class? Say, class 2-A goes first. That way, there should be no mix-ups."

"A sound idea, Chiho-san," Rise agreed with a smile. "So, what shall we name this plan?"

"I have already come up with it," Ruriko stated. "What do you think of Woo with Oeuf?"

The three other occupants thought the name over.

"Catchy," Masaya responded.

"I like it," Chiho stated.

"As do I. Very well, then. The White Lily Society's theme for the May Festival will be… Woo with Oeuf! Are we all agreed?" Rise asked with a smile.

"Yes!" everyone agreed wholeheartedly.

…

...

...

Two days later, on May 2nd, Masaya decided to go to the recreation room of the Final Course dorm in order to check the White Lily's intranet page.

As soon as he arrived, he was pinned by the gazes of many Final Course students of all three years who were relaxing in the room. With a simple wave at the entire room, Masaya went to one of the unused computers and quickly booted it up, hanging his jacket over the back of the chair and withdrawing his shades. Logging in, he made his way to the Racine the Lis, the White Lily's page. A smile appeared on his face as he read the comments left on the message board, which were almost unanimously for the plan. It heartened him to see the support the association he was part of received, but it also saddened him to think that something as simple as an Easter Egg hunt was something that many of these girls hadn't even heard of.

As he was reading some of the comments, he became aware of a presence behind him. Turning his head just enough to see who it was, he was surprised to see a girl that appeared to be at least a year younger than him staring at his arms unabashedly.

Moving the arm she was staring at, he turned around on the chair and asked, "Is there something I can help you with, miss?"

The girl jumped back at being addressed so suddenly, giving Masaya ample time to study her. She had hazel eyes and amber-coloured hair, which went well with her slightly chubby face. She was wearing a simple lavender dress that went down to her knees, and even with that, he could tell that this girl was going to develop breasts comparable to Ruriko's, probably soon.

"Um…" the girl had an oddly squeaky voice, which made her sound much younger than she seemed. "C-Can I ask you something, Masaya-sama?"

Her tone and form of speaking showed that she likely didn't grow up here. With a smile, Masaya nodded and waved at her to continue.

"Um… W-What are your arms made of?" she asked a little shyly, poking her index fingers together.

"Interested in mechanics?" Masaya asked in return. The girl nodded slightly, making him smile softly. "Mostly just metal, though there are many inner parts made of plastic and some that are pure steel. If you see here…" Masaya placed his arm parallel to the ground and pressed a part of it, making the upper layer move up a little and show the inner pieces, which the girl ogled shamelessly. "There's a small layer of graphene under the upper part, which is made of Kevlar. Kevlar is what most of the upper layers of my arms and legs are made of, so that they're resistant to damage. The graphene layers underneath are meant to protect the inner pieces, but since graphene is very conductive, there's a small part of the armour here…"

And that's how Masaya's trip to the recreation room to check the Racine de Lis ended up with him meeting a new friend and giving her an in-depth explanation of what his mechanical body was made of in the presence of fifteen other girls.

…

The night before the 4th of May, Masaya was sitting on his bed, absentmindedly throwing his egg up and down, when he heard a knock at the door. Putting on some sweatpants quickly but leaving his torso bare, he made his way to the door, checking with his Smart Vision beforehand to see who it was. With a smirk, he opened the door.

"Oh, Chiho. What's up?"

"Um, Masaya… Do you have any ideas of where you'll hide your egg?" she asked, a little bashfully.

Masaya raised an eyebrow. Last he checked, the rules stated that asking that was taboo.

"D-Don't get the wrong idea!" Chiho quickly amended. "I just want to know because I don't know where I'll hide mine yet!"

"And you think I can help?" Masaya asked rhetorically. "You do remember that I've been here for a shorter time than you?"

Chiho's face drained of colour a little, but her awkward smile remained. "Oh… you're right!"

Masaya shook his head in amusement. "If you want to find anyone to help you, go ask Ruriko-san. I'm sure she'd be willing to help. See ya tomorrow."

And with that, he closed the door. However, he remained leaning against it, keeping an ear out to see what she would say.

"Ugh… Idiot…"

And with that, she stomped away. Masaya shook his head in exasperation.

"You're still a terrible liar, Chiho."

…

Some minutes later, there was another knock at his door. A quick check with his Smart Vision told him just who it was, and with a smile, he opened the door once again.

"Hello, Rise."

Whatever Rise was going to say was momentarily forgotten as she drank in Masaya's shirtless image. Granted, it wasn't the first time she had seen it, but it still served to impress her every time.

"Earth to Rise. Are you there?" Masaya asked with amusement, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"Oh! Oh, right. Sorry, Masaya-san," Rise said with a bashful smile.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"Have you decided on where you'll hide your egg? I could help you, if you wish."

The smile and blush she had as she asked this made her a hundred times cuter than she normally was, but Masaya could easily see her real motive. With an internal smirk, he decided to have some fun.

"Well, that's alright. I want to do this on my own, Rise. But… if you want to help anyone, you should help Chiho."

"Chiho-san?"

"She was here not too long ago, asking me for some advice on where to hide it. I wasn't able to help her much, but maybe you can."

"I see," Rise said in a low voice.

"Anyways, I should be getting to bed. I want to rise nice and early for tomorrow, you know? Good night."

And with that, he closed the door, once again staying near it to hear what she would say.

"… Drat…"

That nearly made him crack up.

…

Some more minutes later, when he was actually ready to go to bed, there was yet another knock at his door, this one much more insistent.

This time, his Smart Vision revealed to him an odd visitor.

"Konomi? What are you doing here?" Masaya asked as soon as he opened the door.

Konomi was standing at the threshold, fists clenched and face set in a determined frown.

"S-Salutations," she said.

"Uh... hey. You never answered my question."

"Where are you hiding your Easter egg?" Konomi asked suddenly.

Masaya raised an eyebrow. This girl wanted to know too?

"Why?"

"I know that what I ask is taboo, but... I must secure your egg for myself!"

Now he was seriously weirded out.

"Konomi, what the heck do you want my egg for?"

"I-I have to p-protect my Onee-sama! And with these rules in place, the only way I can do that is like this! I will s-sacrifice myself so that she may remain pure!" Konomi stated with conviction.

Masaya nodded in understanding. Of course this sheltered girl would do this for Ritsuko.

"Well... that's too bad, Konomi," Masaya sighed, "because I have no plans of telling you where my egg will be."

"What?!"

"If you want to get it, go find it on your own," Masaya stated with a smirk. "If there's no more business to be discussed, have a good night."

And with that, Masaya went back into his room, leaving a disheartened Konomi standing outside.

...

The next morning, Masaya was walking down the path to the gates, carelessly tossing his egg up and down. Every so often, he would look around, as if contemplating where to place his egg. Truthfully, though, he was keeping an eye out for a stalker that was on his tail, and for a stalker, she wasn't very good. Masaya had spotted her tell-tale green hair almost as soon as he had left the dormitory, but he wanted to see just what this girl wanted.

As the gates came into view, Masaya suddenly made a one-eighty and headed back towards the main courtyard, easily seeing the blur of a small body quickly hiding behind a large tree. With a small shake of his head, Masaya smirked and began to jog towards the dormitories, his ears picking up the sound of Konomi keeping up with him at a distance. As he got closer to the Final Course dorm, he could tell that Konomi was keeping up with his current speed easily.

"Let's see if her reaction time is just as good," Masaya muttered, suddenly doubling his speed.

He could hear Konomi's steps falter momentarily, but then they hastened to keep up. By that point, however, Masaya had nearly doubled the distance between them, and with that advantage in mind, he quickly ran towards the back of the Final Course dorm.

Konomi, panting with exertion, hastened to keep up with him. There was no way she was going to let him get away. She wasn't sure why he had suddenly sped up, but she knew that if she lost him now, she could lose her only chance to protect Ritsuko.

As she rounded the Final Course dormitory, however, she was dismayed to see no sign of Masaya. She looked around as hard as she could, but he had completely disappeared.

"Oh, no... I lost him," Konomi groaned, heading back to the front of the dorm.

Moments after she had left, a human-sized area of the wall began to shimmer as refracted light was allowed to continue on its path, allowing Masaya to fade back into view. The young man was leaning against the wall of the dorm, arms crossed and a smirk on his face as the last of his body faded in.

"Good game, Konomi, but you weren't prepared enough," Masaya commented aloud before leaving.

...

Finally, at three o'clock, the egg hunt began. The White Lily Society, along with Mitsuki, Ritsuko, and Konomi, watched as the entire Final Course dormitory ran off in search of plastic eggs scattered around the campus.

"Oh, look at them run..." Mitsuki said in a disapproving tone.

"We hardly get chances to let loose. Let them have their fun," Rise chided.

"... Very well," Mitsuki relented with a small smile.

As they watched the girls begin to look around, Masaya commented, "It's funny how most of them ran off without looking around, as if they knew where their target already was."

"Well, I spotted several classmates that were hinting to their favoured partner as to where their egg is," Ruriko spoke. "It has become more of a race than a hunt."

"Well, at least the fights for certain eggs will still be entertaining," Masaya chuckled, beginning to walk away. "I think I'll go find one myself."

As he walked away, Ruriko stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm, stopping him momentarily. When he glanced at her, she smiled wistfully and said, "Find my egg, won't you, Masaya-san?"

Faced with those wide, blue eyes, even Masaya's demeanour cracked a little. With a smile, he nodded at the girl. "Sure thing."

Masaya, however, wasn't lacking in awareness. He could see that Ruriko's actions had drawn towards her glares from some of the other girls, and that only made him chuckle. These girls were so competitive...

...

As he walked through the school, Masaya looked around and smiled as he saw the girls running around and chatting with each other. This may not have been why he had become a security guard, but he was nonetheless glad that what he strived for were moments such as these.

He had decided it at the end of the first week, but this only solidified his decision. He would protect all of this with his life.

Finally, he decided to focus on finding an egg. Looking around, he wondered where someone would have hidden an egg, Then figured that with so many girls in Intermediary and Final, it shouldn't be too hard. Keeping a sharp eye out, Masaya eventually noticed an egg plainly sitting on a bench. With a smirk, Masaya studied the light blue colour and the pentagon shapes drawn on it before pocketing it and heading back to the Final Course dormitory. He didn't much care for where his egg was, as he had stuck to it a traceable tag. Once the girls came back, he would know.

...

After spending the rest of the hour sitting at a table in front of the dormitory, Masaya finally spotted the group of girls he had become acquainted with return together. Even more surprisingly, he could see a small dot hovering over the pocket of one of them. Realising who had found his egg, Masaya had to hold back a snort of laughter.

This was just too good.

"Masaya-san," Rise called out, being the first to spot him. She hurried towards his table and took a seat at his side, with Chiho following right behind her and taking a seat on his other side. At a more sedate pace, the rest of the girls convened at the table, and they began to chat.

"So, how did your searches go?" Masaya asked the group in general.

"I found an egg, but it was of a classmate I haven't spoken to very much," Rise admitted dully.

"Me too," Chiho concurred.

"That is my situation as well," Ruriko said, looking remorseful.

"I found one of my classmates, so I'm quite happy," Mitsuki said.

"I found the egg of a girl named Nadeshiko Aiko," Konomi stated.

Masaya perked up at that. "Oh, you found her egg?"

Konomi nodded. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah, I do."

He quickly explained how he and Aiko had met in the recreation room of the dorm.

"... and she was very interested in my prosthetics, so I explained to her how they worked."

"It seems socialising is not a completely lost cause then, Masaya-san," Ruriko pointed out.

"You're right," Masaya admitted, hands up in surrender.

The conversation would have likely gone in that direction, but Masaya, a nearly invisible, devious smirk on his face, turned to the only person who had yet to speak.

"What about you, Ritsuko? Who did you pull?" Masaya asked.

As everyone's attention turned to her, Ritsuko's face was suffused with redness, and she looked away. "I do not know."

"You haven't opened the egg yet?" Mitsuki asked.

Ritsuko shook her head.

"Well, go on! Open it up, Onee-sama," Konomi urged her with a smile.

"A-Ah, no, I would rather open it later," Ritsuko said.

The other girls groaned in disappointment, but Masaya, realising that she was probably very uncomfortable with this, raised his hands and his voice. "Hey, hey, come on. Let's leave her be. If she wants to keep it a secret, why not let her? It sounds fun to me."

He made eye contact with Ritsuko as he said this, and she sent him a thankful smile, to which he nodded. Unfortunately, his intervention drew all attention to him instead.

"Oh, that's right. Masaya-san, whose egg did you find?" Mitsuki, surprisingly, asked.

Masaya smirked and leaned back a little, wagging a finger. "Ah ah ah, that's a secret as well."

The girls groaned in disappointment once again, though a small smirk could be seen on Ritsuko's face.

...

Some time later, Masaya was standing in front of the full-body mirror of his room, adjusting the tie on the neck of his suit. He was wearing a standard black, striped suit with a white shirt, along with a black tie with white, diagonal stripes. This was actually his work suit, the one he used when at work parties or when needed in a mission, but it served just as well here.

After making sure he had the egg he had found on his person, then checking his hair, Masaya left his room and began to walk to the gymnasium, where the dance was being held. Along the way, he could already see several girls that were all very well dressed. He decided to be as surreptitious as possible, walking between trees and shadows. A minute later, he arrived at the gym unnoticed, and entered just as surreptitiously.

Deciding to stand by the wall for now, Masaya crossed his arms and surveyed the gym. It was already somewhat bustling, with small cliques dotting the floor. Masaya didn't see any of his friends, but he did spot several classmates, to whom he nodded in greeting.

On a corner of the gym, a live orchestra was finishing its setup, with Masaya whistling in admiration at their clothes and the quality of their instruments. Vincennes certainly didn't disappoint when it came to grandeur.

A flash of pink caught his eye. Turning, Masaya stopped and whistled once again in admiration, approaching the girl that had just arrived.

"Well, hello, Rise-san," Masaya greeted. "You're looking beautiful tonight."

"O-Oh, thank you, Masaya-san," Rise blushed and turned away slightly. "You always compliment me out of the blue. I'm a little beside myself."

Shaking his head in amusement, Masaya looked her up and down and nodded in appreciation. "Your dress looks marvellous. Is it new?"

"Yes, I ordered it just for this occasion," Rise admitted.

"I see." Looking around momentarily, Masaya spotted a familiar girl dressed in yellow approaching them. "Oh, hello, Chiho!"

"Hi," Chiho returned the greeting with a smile, twirling in place. "So, how do I look, Masaya?"

Masaya tilted his head momentarily, then nodded. "Marvellous. I rarely saw you dress up when we were children. This is sort of a new sight for me."

"I could say the same for you," Chiho said, fighting down her small blush and stepping closer. "You don't look half bad in that suit."

"What? Is that really all?" Masaya asked with mock sadness. "And here I spent all afternoon getting dressed up, just to receive a 'not half bad'."

"Oh, stop it, you dolt," Chiho giggled, slapping his arm. Rise giggled along. A moment later, and with a stronger blush, Chiho said in a low voice, "You really do look good."

"Thanks," Masaya responded with a smirk.

At that moment, another familiar girl approached, this one swinging her hips back and forth.

"Well, salutations," Tamie said in a flirty tone, winking at Masaya. "So, Masaya-san, how do I look? It's, how do you boys say, hot enough to stop traffic, right?"

Masaya chuckled and nodded. "You've got the right phrase, and you look good, Tamie-san. The shape and colour definitely agree with you."

"Aha, I knew it," Tamie grinned victoriously, but then suddenly slumped in disappointment. "I wish my breasts were bigger, though. Boards don't have any appeal."

"What are you talking about?" Masaya asked, glancing down at her chest before looking back at Tamie with a raised eyebrow. "I've seen plenty of worse cases, Tamie-san. Besides, your breasts suit your figure perfectly well, and if they were any bigger, your job as the Sombre Scanner would be made much more difficult, wouldn't it?"

All of the girls stared at Masaya, dumbfounded at how casually he talked of breasts. There was not an ounce of a stutter in his tone, and the way he had glanced down at Tamie's breasts wasn't particularly perverted but still showed interest.

"Hmm..." Tamie thought the matter over after getting over her own surprise, finally nodding in acceptance. "You're right, Masaya-san." She suddenly grabbed and bounced her breasts experimentally while wiggling the rest of her figure, in a show that Masaya found hard to not find enticing. "If these were any bigger, it would be a hindrance to my super skills. That makes me happy!"

"Well, I'm glad about that," Masaya chuckled.

Just as Tamie was set to continue, another familiar person approached the group, this one making all conversation cease due to amazement.

"Salutations," Ruriko spoke with a smile. The buxom blonde was wearing an elegant, pale pink dress that showed off her assets incredibly well. She was also wearing Masaya's jacket over it, but it did next to nothing to cover her chest up.

Masaya looked away for a moment, shaking his head like a dog in order to get rid of the thoughts in his head. Looking back at the group, he could see that Tamie had already approached Ruriko.

"My goodness, Ruriko-san. You're certainly the winner here."

"Pardon?" Ruriko asked in confusion.

"Your chest, girl. Your chest," Tamie replied, poking a finger at Ruriko's cleavage. The finger, however, encountered next to no resistance and sunk into those depths like a fishing line into the sea, ending up sunken in all the way to the palm.

"Ah," Ruriko exclaimed softly, a bright blush entering her face.

"Oh! Uh, hey, my finger's stuck! Masaya-san, help me out here," Tamie pleaded, looking at Masaya in alarm, though Masaya could easily see she was playing around.

With a sigh of mock resignation, Masaya approached her and gave a soft slap to the bottom of Tamie's wrist, making the finger slide out with a soft pop. Looking at Ruriko, Masaya could see her blush momentarily strengthen before it abated slowly, and he made a mental note on that. It seemed Ruriko's breasts were quite sensitive.

"That was sexual harassment," Rise frowned in disapproval.

"No, it wasn't," Masaya countered, bringing attention to him. "It's all about the intent. And I'm sure it wasn't Tamie-san's intent to sexually harass Ruriko-san, was it?"

"Of course not," Tamie responded indignantly.

"There you go," Masaya smiled.

"Ah, so you were talking about breasts," Ruriko spoke up, taking off the jacket and laying it on the back of a nearby chair. She suddenly closed her eyes and smiled serenely. "Talk of breasts always reminds me of when I found Panterbell."

Everyone looked at her in askance.

"Why Panterbell?" Chiho asked.

"I nursed him," the blonde responded without blinking an eye.

Everyone reeled back in shock at that, but Masaya was quick to recover and looked at Ruriko's entire body curiously.

"So... when's the baby due? Know the gender yet?"

That made Ruriko laugh, which dispelled the shocked air somewhat. "It was a joke," Ruriko clarified. "However, I did hold him to my chest to warm him up, as I found him shivering due to the cold weather."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at that.

"Damn," Masaya commented, bringing the girls' attention to him. "My little bro's smoother than I thought. He's made girls fall for him long before I came around."

Chiho and Rise each slapped one of Masaya's arms in annoyance at his comment while Tamie and Ruriko laughed. As he looked at the two girls at his sides, Masaya spotted another girl that was hanging back a little but looking at their group in askance.

"Oh, Ritsuko," Masaya called out, waving a hand. "A pleasure to see you."

"Salutations," Ritsuko said as she approached the group, blushing momentarily when she looked at Masaya.

"Everything alright?" Masaya asked her with a hidden smirk.

"Yes, everything is fine," Ruriko responded, a little forcefully.

The group descended into small talk, and eventually, Ritsuko went to take a seat, Rise went up to the stage, and the Woo with Oeuf began.

As everyone that wasn't a third year leaned against the walls, Masaya crossed his arms and closed his eyes, keeping a sharp ear out for any trouble.

...

Three dances had passed when suddenly, Masaya felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw a very beautiful, light-blue-haired girl standing behind him, her royal blue dress doing an even worse job of covering her ample cleavage than Ruriko's.

"Okonogi Masaya-kun, right?" the girl asked in a happy tone.

"That's me," Masaya responded with a raised eyebrow. "Who do I have the pleasure of talking to?"

"I'm Kitamikado Ayaka, from class 3-D," the girl introduced herself with a wink. "Now then, Masaya-kun, you're dancing with me."

Masaya's other eyebrow joined its partner in rising to his hairline. What was this girl playing at?

"So, just to be clear, you found the egg with my name on it?" Masaya asked.

"Yes, but you wouldn't believe it," Ayaka responded with what he could see was mock sadness. "When I found it, a crow suddenly attacked me! It was really scary! And it flew away with the paper!"

Masaya's eyes narrowed. This girl was definitely trying to play him. But for what purpose? He had half a mind to turn her down, but...

"Eh, what the hell," Masaya shrugged. "Fine, let's dance."

"Alright!" Ayaka cheered, grabbing his hand and taking him to the dance floor.

As they walked away, his three friends stared at the pair in surprise.

"Is that... Ayaka-sama?" Tamie asked.

"Was she the one Masaya found?" Ruriko asked afterwards.

"Even if it was, it's the third years' pick, not the second years'," Chiho countered.

"Then perhaps Ayaka-sama found Masaya-san's egg," Ruriko theorized.

"True, we never did find out who found his egg," Tamie concurred.

"Oh, look at him," Chiho pouted as she watched the two of them dance the waltz. "He's totally enjoying himself."

"I don't doubt it," Tamie laughed while Ruriko giggled.

...

"So, tell me, Ayaka-sama," Masaya spoke up after a minute of dancing, rather close dancing at that. Ayaka seemed to have no inhibitions about her body and willingly pressed up to Masaya. To his credit, he only glanced down at her cleavage once. "Why did you lie to me?"

"Why do you think I lied?" Ayaka asked innocently.

"Please don't insult my intelligence," Masaya responded in deadpan. "First and foremost, I already know who has my egg."

"Oh? Who is it?" Ayaka asked with an impish smile.

"Someone you're very familiar with," Masaya snarked. "And second, did you really expect me to fall for your cock-and-bull story?"

Ayaka simply laughed and kept dancing. Truthfully, she was surprised at Masaya's skill in dancing. She thought that his metal limbs would make it difficult to move to the rhythm, but Masaya had no difficulties in that regard.

It was only a minute later that the dance was over, and Masaya, in respect, bowed to Ayaka with a flourish. "Thank you for the dance, Ayaka-sama."

Ayaka bowed in return, but when she straightened, she said, "Call me Ayaka-san, Masaya-kun. I don't like the -sama. It's too formal for me."

"As you wish." With that, Masaya returned to his friends while Ayaka moved to another part of the gym.

"Hehe... you're an interesting one, Masaya-kun," she whispered as she walked away.

...

When Masaya returned to his friends, he was met by three inquisitive glances.

"What?"

"So Ayaka-sama found your egg, Masaya-san?" Ruriko was the one to ask.

"No."

The girls' mouths opened in shock.

"Then... why dance with her?" Tamie asked.

Masaya shrugged. "She went out of her way to ask me, so I decided, why not?"

Chiho pouted at him. "When did you get so cosy with Ayaka-sama?"

"Just now," Masaya smirked. "Jealous?"

Chiho blushed profusely and looked away with arms crossed. "N-No! Why would I be?"

Masaya chuckled and leaned against the wall, waiting for when his class's turn came.

...

Finally, after classes 2-A and 2-B went (with Masaya getting a good view of what good dancers Tamie and Ruriko were, plus how much Chiho had improved since he last saw her dance), it came to be his class's turn. Pulling the egg out of his jacket's inner pocket, and to the expectant stares of his friends (Rise included, as she had returned due to it being her turn to dance), Masaya popped open the egg and pulled the paper from outside.

Rise, Chiho, Ruriko, and Tamie stood in silence, staring at Masaya, who was staring blankly at the paper, for what seemed like an eternity, before Tamie finally asked, "Well, Masaya-san? Who is it?"

Masaya shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. With a whisper of, 'This is just too good,' he turned the paper around to show the girls whose name was written on it.

 _Kitamikado Ayaka_

"What?!" This was the general consensus of three of the girls.

"What is it?" Rise asked, curious about the reaction.

Chiho quickly brought her up to speed while Masaya looked around the gym, spotting Ayaka sitting at a table and conveniently already looking his way.

"Well, I won't keep a lady waiting," Masaya chuckled, putting the paper and egg in his pocket and walking away, though not without a few glares from the competitive duo that was Rise and Chiho.

Ayaka immediately noticed him approaching and smiled in a flirty way, with Masaya sending back an equally flirty and confident smirk. As soon as he was close enough, she called out to him.

"What's wrong, Masaya-kun? Couldn't be away from me for too long?"

Masaya stopped in front of her, his smirk still firmly in place. "Well, as attractive as you are, Ayaka-san, and as much as my body yearns for you, I've come for a different reason." With that, he pulled out the paper with her name on it and showed it to her, leaving her both blushing and flabbergasted.

"Y-You found my egg?" Ayaka asked in a dumbfounded tone. It made Masaya frown slightly, since it sounded like she either didn't expect anyone to find it, or she didn't expect the person to actually keep the egg.

"Oh yes, it wasn't very hard," Masaya shrugged. Putting on his best suave face, he held his hand forward and asked, "Shall we dance?"

Ayaka took a moment to compose herself, then took his hand and stood with a flourish. "Yes, let's, Masaya-kun."

...

"Oh, look at him. Bet he's enjoying this," Chiho pouted.

"Chiho-san, this is like déjà vu," Tamie said in deadpan. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance to dance with him too."

...

As they swayed to the music, Masaya couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"What's on your mind?" Ayaka asked as he slowly twirled her around.

"Oh, it's just... you didn't need to lie to me earlier. Had you waited, you would still have danced with me," Masaya explained.

"True," Ayaka agreed with a smile.

"You just couldn't wait to get a piece of me, could you?" Masaya asked, smiling and raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes," Ayaka said in a breathy whisper, definitely trying to get a reaction out of him.

Masaya stood to the challenge, and even countered with his own.

As he twirled her once again, he tightened his grip on her waist slightly and pulled her closer to him, her breasts becoming squished against his chest. Ayaka definitely hadn't expected that, as she gasped slightly and looked up at Masaya with slightly closed eyes that looked almost... shy to him. She could easily smell his scent, which was a mix of cologne and a slight smell of metal that actually combined well to give him a decidedly manly air.

"Masaya-kun..." she whispered, nearly laying her head on his chest.

Masaya's face approached hers slowly, so slowly, and his smell invaded her mind...

But then, his face passed hers, and he whispered into her ear, "The dance is over, Ayaka-san."

Ayaka startled and looked around, realising that he was right. Oddly, nobody had paid attention to their actions, but for that, she was grateful.

Masaya stepped back and bowed once again, saying, "Thank you for the second dance, Ayaka-san, and I look forward to your continued acquaintance."

Ayaka bowed in return, but she couldn't hide the expression of dissatisfaction from her face, which Masaya spotted. Whether it was because of her plan failing or because of the results of his counter-challenge, he couldn't tell.

It could have been both.

As Masaya turned and walked back to his friends, Ayaka couldn't contain the small whimper that escaped her throat. She immediately turned away and walked at a brisk pace to the bathroom.

...

When Masaya returned to the group, he wasn't particularly surprised to see Chiho glaring at him. He _was_ surprised to see Tamie frowning as well, though Ruriko simply looked content about something.

"What the heck was that, Masaya?" Chiho demanded as soon as he was close to her.

Masaya sighed in amusement. He had expected this reaction. "Just giving Ayaka-san a taste of her own medicine."

Tamie seemed to understand and smirked deviously while nodding in approval, but Chiho still looked unsatisfied.

"Chiho, why the long face?" Masaya asked, cackling internally. "Do you want a bit of that medicine as well?"

This time, Chiho stumbled back, blushing furiously and looking away. Masaya noted, however, that she hadn't refused.

"Perhaps later," Masaya sighed, leaning against the wall. "Now, I just need to wait for the person who pulled my egg."

"You sound like you already know who that is," Tamie pointed out.

"I do," Masaya nodded, "But to let go of that information now would be useless. You'll see who it is soon."

...

Finally, all of the second years had danced, and it came to be the turn of the first years.

Masaya was standing by the wall, eyes closed, when he sensed someone approach him. Even before his friends could say anything, he spoke up. "Hello, Ritsuko."

"Masaya-sama," she greeted in return. "It seems you are my partner."

Masaya opened his eyes and stepped away from the wall, nodding at Ritsuko. The young woman was wearing a purple dress with gold accents, which he had to admit was quite appealing and hugged her slim figure well.

"Shall we, then?" Masaya spoke, holding his hand out.

"Yes," Ritsuko responded, placing her hand in his and letting him lead her to the dance floor.

Distantly, Masaya heard Tamie exclaim, "He gets to dance with both Kitamikado sisters?!"

He couldn't hold back the small chuckle that came from that reaction.

Once they were in position, Ritsuko asked, "Is something funny?"

Masaya shook his head. "Somewhat. I'm sure you saw that I danced with your sister."

"Yes, twice," Ritsuko responded, looking at him with some disapproval.

"Hey now," Masaya admonished as they began to sway to the rhythm, "She was trying to play games with me first. I merely retaliated appropriately."

Ritsuko nodded in understanding. "Yes, my sister has a reputation for being a prankster. I hope she didn't offend you."

"Oh, no, not at all," Masaya assured her.

At the beginning of the dance, Ritsuko danced a little stiffly, as if expecting something, but she eventually let loose and began to dance in a more relaxed manner. As they turned and swayed, Masaya spoke again.

"You know, I'm actually a little worried for her."

Ritsuko looked into his eyes with her own wide ones. "Why?"

"When I approached her," Masaya explained as he spun her around, "She seemed to be very surprised. Due to my line of work and an augmentation of mine, I've become adept at reading emotions and faces, and from what I saw in hers… she just seemed very lonely to me, you know? I don't know what it was _exactly_ , but I do know that something's hurting her enough to be surprised at the fact that someone found and held onto her egg."

Ritsuko stared up at Masaya's face, so stunned by his words that she almost lost her rhythm, though Masaya made sure to keep her upright. After a few moments, she nodded and spoke. "… You're correct, Masaya-sama. I should not speak of this, but she is rather lonely. Her reputation as a prankster and a continuous liar has isolated her from the rest of the girls."

Masaya frowned, and would likely have continued, but then a distraction came in the form of a small, green-haired bundle of indignation.

"ONEE-SAMA!"

Startled by the sudden yell, Masaya fell back on his training and turned quickly, spreading his arms out slightly to protect Ritsuko in case of an attack. However, a split-second later, the word that had been yelled was processed by him and he relaxed a little when he spotted Konomi rushing through the crowd towards the duo. He tensed once again, though, when he noticed that she had a dangerous item in her hand: a naginata.

The green haired girl stopped in front of the two, panting and glaring at Masaya.

"Onee-sama," she declared, "Get away from him! Please!"

"Konomi?!" Ritsuko exclaimed in confusion.

"You pig…" Konomi growled, spinning the naginata in her hands and miraculously not hitting anyone, thought that may have been because the rest of the dancers had moved back temporarily and given them a lot of room, watching the spectacle with bated breath. "Get away from her!"

Masaya stared at the girl incredulously, not moving an inch. Unfortunately, that was a bad decision, as Konomi simply growled even more and jumped forward, swinging her naginata at him.

 **CLANG!**

Everyone started in shock as they heard the clash of blades, and Konomi herself was shocked when she saw another blade counter her own. With wide eyes, she followed the path of the blade, and realised that it was coming from inside Masaya's jacket sleeve.

"What the…?"

Looking back at Masaya's face, Konomi was startled to see the most serious look she had ever seen on him. His eyes had sharpened considerably and were aimed directly at her, yet he seemed… almost bored.

With a grunt, Masaya pushed his arm forward and broke the deadlock, making Konomi step back a bit. Konomi immediately prepared herself, and just in time, because Masaya dashed forward and made a backhand swipe with his own blade, which Konomi parried, though just barely. The fact of the matter was that Masaya was still much stronger than she was, and not just because of the metal limbs.

Konomi continued to step back, parrying Masaya's strikes. Annoyingly to her, Masaya's expression hadn't even changed. He was simply looking at her with the same bored face, an expression that didn't change no matter how many times his slashes were parried. With a growl at being underestimated, Konomi leapt forward after another slash from Masaya and swiped at him, but to her shock, he simply bent backwards and easily avoided it.

That was the end of the fight for her.

Masaya straightened so quickly that Konomi's arms were still at the end of her swing, and before she could even think of getting back to her stance, she felt the unmistakeable cold feeling of a blade at her neck.

Thankfully for Masaya, she had enough common sense to freeze the moment she felt that.

The entire crowd around drew in a breath at the sight of the best naginata fighter in the school being so easily beaten. They hadn't stepped in because of two reasons: it was a mesmerizing battle; and they had enough sense of self to not get involved in such a fight, if it could be called that.

Konomi slowly looked up to Masaya, making sure to not move her neck too much. The blade felt really sharp. Looking into his eyes, she could see, to her shame, disappointment in his sight.

"Konomi…" Masaya sighed. "What could have possibly led you to attack me?"

Truthfully, he and everyone else knew, but he wanted to hear her say it.

Konomi remained quiet for some time, but then responded in a low voice.

"I… I wanted to protect my Onee-sama."

Masaya nodded in understanding. "A worthy reason. It's not a bad thing to want to protect those you care for. However…" Here, Masaya's gaze sharpened, and he looked directly into the girl's eyes. "Can you tell me where you failed?"

Konomi remained quiet. This time, she didn't have an answer for him.

"I see…" Masaya sighed. He brought up his free hand, holding up three fingers. "First," he stated, pulling a finger down. "You entered a battle without having a complete understanding of your opponent's strengths, weaknesses, and strategies. Second," the second finger lowered, "You did not formulate a plan of attack. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you came in, naginata flashing, and didn't even use a good stance." Konomi remained silent. "Thought so. And third," the final finger lowered. "You allowed your emotions to blind you, which led to the first two points I made. _Now_ do you see where you went wrong?"

Konomi nodded sadly.

"Good." Carefully, Masaya took away his blade from her neck and retracted it, the sharp object sliding smoothly into his jacket's sleeve as if it had never been there in the first place. "Now, are we done here?"

Konomi nodded slowly and folded her naginata, the blade disappearing into her clothing easily. She was obviously experienced in pulling out and putting away her blade.

Feeling a small heat at his back, Masaya smirked and turned around slowly, coming to the sight of an annoyed Ritsuko. Funnily, to him, she wasn't staring at him but around him and at Konomi.

"Is something the matter, Ritsuko?" Masaya asked.

"No… not at all," Ritsuko responded, a little stiffly.

That's when Masaya became aware of the silence that had fallen in the gym and, looking around, he could see that almost all of the girls were staring between him and Konomi in incredulity.

"What?"

Had this been a standard anime, everyone there would have fallen on their faces. Instead, Masaya was faced with a bunch of odd looks. Ignoring those, he looked around and walked to where the orchestra was, asking, "Hey, can you ladies start up again? This wouldn't be a ball without music."

The girls nodded blankly and prepared themselves, giving Masaya time to head back to where Ritsuko and Konomi were still standing.

"Well, Ritsuko, we never did manage to finish our dance. Would you like to?"

Ritsuko stared into his face with a raised eyebrow, but eventually, she smiled and nodded. With a nod in return, Masaya turned back to Konomi and asked, "And you, Konomi?"

Konomi startled and jumped back, her face being suffused by redness. "What?!"

Masaya raised an eyebrow at the reaction, then replayed his last words and shook his head in amusement. "Oh, no, I wasn't asking you to dance, though if you want to, I have no complaints. I meant, what do you plan to do now?"

Konomi stared at the young man, processing his words. Finally, she slumped in exhaustion and turned around, saying, "I will just sit down, thank you."

Masaya watched her go with a small smile and a raised eyebrow, noticing a moment later that the music had begun again.

"Well, shall we continue, Ritsuko?" Masaya asked smoothly, holding out his hand toward the navy-haired girl, who took it gracefully.

…

A few hours later, Masaya was sitting at one of the tables, nursing a glass of punch and watching everyone else mingle. He had already danced several songs with not only each of his friends, but also with Mitsuki, Marika, Konomi, some of the other Red Rose associates, some of his classmates, and even Sister Mishima, who was there as a supervisor. He had much fun dancing with the nun, as her sense of humour was always infectious. He had asked her why she hadn't stepped in to stop the small bout between Konomi and himself, and she had answered honestly that she trusted him to handle it well, which had earned her his gratitude.

Back to the young man, he watched as Rise and Chiho danced together, noticing that they were talking quite a bit. About what, he could not say, but it seemed to be something oddly serious.

Just as he was looking around, a small ring announced an incoming call. Checking the caller ID at the corner of his sight, he was somewhat surprised to note it was from his employer.

"What could they possibly want at this hour?" Masaya wondered aloud, considering the fact that it was nearly three in the morning. With a shrug, Masaya accepted the call and said, "This is Okonogi Masaya. Come in."

 _"Masaya,"_ a familiar voice said into his ear. _"You have an assignment. Prepare for an infiltration mission and meet your team at the rendezvous point at 0400 hours."_

Masaya frowned. "I'm on my way, but Jason, you'll need to send me the mission parameters."

 _"Will do, Masaya,"_ Jason responded. _"Now, get going."_

"Wilco. Masaya out."

With that, Masaya cut off the conversation and stood, placing his glass on the table and looking around for a moment. He spotted Rise and Chiho just finishing their dance, so when they looked his way, most likely planning to ask for another dance, he waved at them to approach. They did, followed by Tamie and Ruriko, who had seen Masaya's wave as well.

"What is it, Masaya-san?" Rise asked.

"I'm heading out early," Masaya stated simply, already turning around. "Thought I'd let you know."

 **"Eh?!"** All four girls cried out in confusion, with Chiho picking up the question. "Wait, where are you going, Masaya?"

"I just got a call from my employer," Masaya explained shortly. "I'm required for a mission in an hour, and I need to get ready. If anyone asks, please let them know. I'll see you in a few hours… I hope."

He had whispered the last part to himself just as he was opening the door of the gym, but the girls heard it nonetheless.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Masaya sighed and jogged to his room, where he pulled out the bag in his closet that contained all of his equipment. He was glad that he was able to store his only necessary weapon, a Mark XIX Desert Eagle, in a slot of his leg, along with enough rounds of ammunition to last him a standard infiltration mission.

Quickly stripping off his suit and leaving it neatly on his bed, Masaya got all of his necessary clothing on, including a bulletproof vest for the biggest squishy part of his body, his torso. After making sure he wasn't missing anything, he went on his way, scanning the mission parameters of the infiltration mission.

"A suspected human trafficking ring? This should be easy enough."

…

After Masaya left, the gymnasium became a buzz of murmurs. Few had heard what Masaya had said, so speculations as to the reason why he had left early were running wild. The White Lily girls made sure to fill everyone in, so the rumours were quickly squashed, but as Masaya hadn't stated what the mission was, the rumours had quickly changed course and became about just that.

At two tables (which were pushed together to form a large one) were sitting Rise, Chiho, Ruriko, Tamie, Mitsuki, Ritsuko, Konomi, and Marika, who had decided to join them for the time being.

"I'm just really worried," Chiho was speaking, that very same worry clear in her eyes and voice. "I know that he's good at what he does, but it still sits badly with me. And what was with that 'I hope' that he said?"

"I don't know," Rise spoke, a little morosely. "But… I pray that he will be alright."

"Have faith in Masaya-san," Ruriko spoke with a small smile. "I'm sure that he will be okay. He's a strong man, no?"

The mood around the table brightened as she said this.

"I wonder if he would be allowed to talk about it when he gets back," Tamie wondered, her reporter nature shining through her pores.

The Red Rose members and student council president didn't comment, as they really had nothing to add. Ritsuko looked worried, Konomi was ambivalent, and Mitsuki and Marika were simply getting the bearings of the situation.

In the end, many of the girls ended up going to bed early, their worry for their male friend dampening some of the mood of the Soiree Dansante.

…

…

…


	6. Chapter 6

Masaya didn't return the next day, which set the girls on edge. He had stated that he would see them in a few hours, and they sincerely hoped that nothing had happened, yet since he hadn't called, and as no one had any updates, they were left to worry incessantly. Rise made sure to take notes in class so that he could catch up when he returned.

In the White Lilly Society meeting after classes, the mood of the girls was subdued, and each one was glancing constantly at the empty seat that Masaya usually occupied. Rise, realising that they wouldn't accomplish anything like this, decided to end the meeting early, and each girl went back to their rooms, their thought plagued by the nearly unlimited scenarios of what could have happened to Masaya.

…

The next day, after classes were done, the Filles de la Vincennes were given a rude shock when they spotted Okonogi Masaya walking up the garden path and headed at a quick pace towards the Final Course dormitory. But what surprised them wasn't just his appearance, despite the fact that he had a small cut on his left cheek, and one of his arms and the vest on his torso had several visible dents. No, what shocked them was his stance and general air.

The young man had a scary scowl on his face, his teeth gritted almost painfully. His fists were clenched, as if something were truly distressing him, and to top it all off, his pose was somehow stressed, and at the same time, limp, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Masaya ignored everything around him, striding directly to his room of the dorm. To put it simply, no matter what appeared in his path, he simply circumvented and ignored it. Trees, pigeons, other people; he simply ignored everything, including several attempts to catch his attention via his name being called by his classmates.

Some of the girls, worried over the state the young man had returned in, followed him, keeping enough distance back to not get in his way. Others, knowing that the White Lily Society was meeting at the moment, went to go find them and let them know of the new development.

…

"He hasn't come back yet, has he?" Chiho asked Rise as soon as she and Ruriko had stepped into the White Lily Society room.

Rise shook her head morosely.

"What could possibly be keeping him?" Chiho asked, her old fears of when he had left her the first time returning somewhat.

Ruriko said nothing, simply looking worried, but Panterbell uttered a small, sad 'kuu'.

The girls sat quietly at the table for almost ten minutes, none of them sure of what to say. It wasn't until that point that Rise decided to cut the meeting short again.

"Okay… it seems that there's nothing to be discussed for now," Rise spoke, a little forcefully. "I think it would be best to-."

"Rise-sama!"

The door suddenly opened, and a Final Course first year stepped inside, her chest heaving from having run here.

"Oh, Mieko," Rise said in surprise, looking at the newcomer along with Chiho and Ruriko. "What is it?"

"Masaya-sama! He's back!"

The girls immediately brightened up at that and began to get out of their seats, but Mieko's next words shocked them.

"You have to come, quickly! Something is wrong with him!"

That got them seriously moving, and the foursome ran all the way to the Final Course dormitory. On the way, Mieko filled them in on the situation and on what she had seen, especially on Masaya's physical state. The girls, at first worried, were now almost freaking out, as none of them could begin to wonder what he could have encountered to have returned in such a state.

When they arrived at the dormitory, they found a small crowd gathered at the front of it, all of them immediately splitting and creating a path when they saw the Soleil D'Ecole approaching with the other two White Lily affiliates. Knowing those three were the best candidates for calming down Masaya, the crowd allowed the trio to pass unimpeded.

The three of them could see that there were several girls in front of Masaya's door already, yet none of them seemed to be doing anything but staring at his door.

"What is going on here?" Rise asked authoritatively.

"We saw Masaya-san go into his room a few minutes ago," one of her classmates explained. "After that, we heard several crashing sounds, but since he locked himself in, we couldn't investigate, and he refuses to come out."

Rise, Chiho, and Ruriko's worry mounted as they heard this, and Rise decided to take the lead, stepping up to the door, which was oddly quiet now. Taking a deep breath, she knocked three times on the door.

"Masaya-san?" she called out hopefully.

There was no answer.

She tried again.

"Masaya-san, are you in there? Please, what's wrong?"

There was once again no answer.

Rise looked back at her two fellow White Lily members, asking for assistance wordlessly. Chiho nodded and stepped up, knocking on the door.

"Masaya? Come on, let us in! Please!"

Silence.

This time, Ruriko stepped up, knocking lightly.

"Masaya-san, please, don't shut us out! We wish to help you! If something is troubling you, we wish to alleviate it! Please, let us in!"

There was once again no response from him.

The three girls looked at each other in worry, then at the gathered crowd, but no one could offer an answer.

Then, suddenly, a sound shattered the silence like a bullet through glass.

The door clicked, signifying that it had just been unlocked.

The three girls glanced at each other, wondering what to do. Chiho and Ruriko waved at Rise to go on. The pink-haired girl nodded, grabbing the handle of the door. After taking a deep breath, she turned it, and pushed open the door slowly.

The sight that greeted the girls could have been considered a battleground, and everyone gasped at the sight.

Masaya's room had been turned into a mess. The glass coffee table that was once at the middle of the room was shattered, the glass covering the floor. His wardrobe had a large hole at the side, and many of his clothes were thrown around the room. Finally, there was Masaya himself, who was sitting on his bed.

The young man looked completely defeated, which hurt Rise, Chiho, and Ruriko just by looking at him. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees and his hand in his face. He wasn't moving, but the girls thought they could hear him… sobbing.

Carefully, Rise stepped inside, followed by Chiho and Ruriko. Stepping around the shattered glass table, she slowly approached Masaya.

"M-Masaya-san?" she asked, somewhat fearfully.

Masaya didn't move or respond. Extremely worried, Rise carefully sat next to him on the bed, with Chiho sitting on his left. Ruriko remained standing.

Slowly, the rest of the girls trickled in, all of them gasping at the mess the room had become. They all looked towards the young man, and couldn't help but tear up at the sight of the crushed Masaya.

Rise slowly put an arm around his shoulders, a slightly difficult task due to his stature. Chiho decided to follow her lead and placed a hand on his leg, rubbing it in a comforting manner. Ruriko couldn't really do much, but Panterbell hopped off her shoulder and made his way to Masaya's leg, rubbing himself against it comfortingly like a cat.

Masaya slowly responded to their ministrations, lowering his hands from his face, yet leaving it hanging down, shadowing his face. When he did look up, though, the girls gasped at the sight of his deadened eyes.

What could have possibly happened to bring Masaya down like this?

"I can't even cry, you know…" Masaya murmured, looking down once again. "My tear ducts… were practically burned to cinders by the explosion I was caught in…"

The girls remained quiet, knowing that he needed to get things off his chest. Much like his appearance, his voice seemed to be dead as well.

"It's a shame, too…" he continued, his eyes narrowing. "I never thought I'd feel like crying again…"

He took a deep breath, then looked around, as if just now realising that his room was filled with girls that were looking at him sympathetically. He looked to his sides, seeing Rise and Chiho there, then looked at Ruriko, who was standing just in front of him, all with worried frowns on their faces.

"Oh… you guys…" Masaya muttered, as if just now realising who was with him.

"Masaya…" Chiho murmured worriedly. "What happened to you?"

Masaya looked at her, his gaze somewhat blank. He blinked once, then twice, before looking down at where Panterbell was still wrapped around his ankle.

Some movement near the door caught Rise's attention. Looking up, she saw the Red Rose Society arriving at the scene, with Mitsuki, Ritsuko, and Konomi stepping inside and reacting just like everyone else when they saw the scene. Mitsuki looked at her ex-best friend with worry, while Ritsuko and Konomi were more worried about Masaya's state.

"I've seen a lot of things in my missions…" Masaya began suddenly, drawing all attention to him. "I've learned many lessons… and I've even had to kill some people… but…"

Masaya shuddered, recalling just what had happened in this mission.

"Nothing like this…"

…

 _Masaya leaned against a wall, carefully watching and listening for any enemies. The infiltration had gone off without a hitch, and as his teammates created a good enough distraction outside the large warehouse that was the suspected base, Masaya had sneaked in through a secret passage revealed through infrared and satellite mapping of the area._

 _As he watched two men run his way, armed to the teeth and ready to go defend the outer courtyard of the place, Masaya quickly stepped out and disabled the first guard by clothes-lining him, sending the man down with a gurgle. In the same movement, he twisted around the second man and easily snapped his neck, killing him. After making sure the first guy was down, he dragged both of them into a closet, but not before taking one of their pistols and some ammo._

 _Continuing down the corridor, he encountered a room that had several security cameras around, as well as some guards that, miraculously for him, were standing in a close radius and walking around. Digging into a pouch that he had picked up from his teammates, he pulled out an EMP grenade and surreptitiously slid it into the room. It beeped twice, drawing the guards' attention, before going off and shocking the entire room, disabling both the guards and the cameras easily._

 _The rest of his infiltration went about the same. The group that had been trafficking drugs and people seemed to be a mostly militia group, so they weren't particularly well equipped. Thus, Masaya found nothing predominantly worrisome yet._

 _That is, until he reached the heart of the warehouse, where he found a sickening sight._

 _As Masaya reached the room, he leaned against the door and activated Smart Vision. As the sonar-like augmentation started up, he could see three figures in the room. There were two large men standing in between a kneeling woman, and judging by the pose the woman had, she was definitely chained up, as her arms were pointing straight up. He could see very little clothing on her, just enough to cover her waist, leaving the rest of her body open to the world._

 _Gritting his teeth slightly, Masaya checked around the room and found that there was an air vent large enough for him to fit in that seemed to lead into the room. Carefully opening it, he slid inside and made sure to move quickly yet quietly. Who knew what these bastards were planning?_

 _Well, he had a faint idea, but he didn't want to think about that right now._

 _He carefully opened the vent door that was his exit, sliding out of the vent under the cover of shadows. Luckily for him, these men seemed to be into intimidation, as the room was sparsely lighted, giving him many shadows to blend into._

 _As soon as his feet touched the floor, a pleading, broken voice reached him._

 _"_ _P-Pl… Please… no more… why…"_

 _Masaya's eyes widened momentarily as he turned, looking at the girl that was captive. His earlier assumptions that this was a woman were wholly wrong._

 _This was a young girl, perhaps a year older than Rise was._

 _She had brown hair that had been cut short and ragged, and she had a face that could have been called beautiful in any other situation. But now… her face was covered in cuts and bruises, and one of her eyes was blackened and closed, a sign that she had been hit there rather strongly. From his vantage point, Masaya could see that her chest, breasts, and stomach had several bruises as well, and her legs were looking just as bad. Even more worrying, she was a frail thing, with skinny arms and legs._

 _One of the men, a burly guy wearing light armour and with an AK-47 strapped to his back, laughed in a sickeningly mocking voice._

 _"_ _Oh, would you look at that, Hiro? It seems this girl still has a little spunk in her!"_

 _"_ _Still hasn't learned, has she?" the other guy, Hiro, sneered. He was a frail-looking guy, who had a pair of pistols strapped to his belt and a similar AK-47 on his back. "It seems we have to teach her to behave a bit more."_

 _"_ _P-Please…" the girl moaned brokenly, not even having the strength to struggle. "W-Why are you… doing this…?"_

 _"_ _You still haven't learned yet?!" Hiro mocked her, leaning forward and making the girl flinch in horror. "All the nobles will pay good prices for you silver spoon girlies. You should be proud! You get to do something good for a man before you die!" The man laughed then, as if reacting to his own joke._

 _Masaya, on the other hand, was on the entirely opposite side of the emotional spectrum._

 _It took all he had just to control himself, but he knew he didn't have much time._

 _…_

"I still didn't know what I was going to do… but I knew one thing…" Masaya spoke, looking up at his captivated crowd. The girls were all entranced by the story, and they were all equally horrified by what this young man had done and gone through so far. Unfortunately, with the way he was speaking, they knew that it wasn't the end.

"That girl… was a Vincennes alumnae."

That made all of the girls gasp in shock and horror.

"And she wasn't the only one."

…

 _Masaya stepped around cautiously, watching as the men belittled the poor girl even more. He knew that he should step in, but he wanted to take the two from behind, where he was sure to be able to kill them without any possible collateral damage._

 _He had already decided that they would die. These two scum couldn't be allowed to live._

 _His resolve was further cemented when he heard the unmistakeable sound of a zipper being undone._

 _"_ _Alright, girlie," the buff man stated, reaching into his pants with one hand and grabbing the girl's chin with the other. The girl tried to struggle out of his grip, but no matter what she tried, he was still too powerful for her. "Since you want to act all big and whatnot, I'm going to teach you another lesson. Now, open your-,"_

 _Whatever he was going to say was cut off and turned into a gurgle of pain when a blade shot through his neck, splattering his blood all over the floor. Hiro yelled in shock as he beheld his partner being killed mercilessly, and wasn't able to react well when the man's body was picked up and thrown in his direction. He yelped as he and the corpse crashed to the floor, and when he looked up, his eyes widened and his face paled when he saw Masaya standing over the pair, the only light in the room giving him an almost demonic quality to the young man._

 _"_ _W-W-Who are you?!" Hiro yelled._

 _Masaya leaned down slightly, pulling back his right arm. "You can call me… divine retribution."_

 _Then, without a second thought, he extended his blade and thrust it right through Hiro's neck, killing the man._

 _When he was sure that they were dead, he walked towards where the girl was. She was hanging limply from her chains, but as soon as he approached, she tried to struggle._

 _"_ _N-No! Please, no more…!"_

 _"_ _Hey, hey, look at me," Masaya pleaded. "It's okay, I'm here to help you."_

 _The girl stilled and looked at him, her broken and deadened eyes not really seeing him. He, however, didn't notice that, as he was too busy searching the corpses for the keys to the chains. Finally, he found hanging from Hiro's belt, and without further ado, he opened the shackles, pulling the girl up to her feet slowly._

 _"_ _Listen, I need you to talk to me," Masaya began to speak, looking around and noticing a door to his left. "Are there any more of you being held here?"_

 _The girl nodded slowly._

 _"_ _Okay, alright. Do you know where they are?"_

 _The girl looked at him for a moment, then looked up and pointed at the door to his left with a shaky hand._

 _"_ _Okay, good." Masaya helped her to the door and kicked it open, then walked down the corridor with his charge. "We need to find them and get out. My team is outside and causing a distraction, but we don't have much time."_

 _As if to confirm his statement, he began receiving a transmission from the leader of the team outside._

 _"_ _Masaya, come in! How is that search and rescue going?! We don't have much time left out here!"_

 _"_ _I've just found one of the victims, Mitsuo," Masaya relayed to him. "I'm en-route to where the rest of them should be. I'll call you back when I've found the rest of them. Over and out."_

 _The girl he had hanging from his shoulder had said nothing this entire time, and that was beginning to worry the young infiltrator. His worry was forced to take a backseat, however, when his ears picked up the sound of what sounded like female cries from a room up ahead, as well as several male voices._

 _Looking around for a moment, Masaya spotted a supply closet nearby and walked towards it, opening the door carefully. Just as cautiously, he leaned forward and sat the nearly catatonic girl on the floor, where she curled up._

 _Looking at the girl with worry, Masaya suddenly became aware that some of the men were about to exit the jail room. Not only that, but at that point, Mitsuo called him._

 _"_ _Masaya! Some of the men have broken off and are heading back inside! I think you're going to have company soon!"_

 _"_ _Copy that."_

 _Masaya cursed lightly when he heard that. He couldn't just leave the girl, but he had a mission to complete._

 _Face set in determination, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the gun he'd swiped from the first guards he'd killed, then grabbed the girl's hand._

 _…_

"I knew that I needed to complete my mission, and at my current skill level, there was no way I could protect us both had I gone in there with her," Masaya said, lowering his head. "So instead, I placed her in a room next door and gave her one of my weapons to protect herself should any one of those bastards go into that room."

The girls around him watched as he suddenly shuddered and looked up, his eyes showing pure remorse.

"That… was my first mistake. My second…"

Masaya looked down once again, sighing.

"My second mistake was leaving her alone."

…

 _"_ _Here," Masaya stated, placing the gun in the girl's hand. She looked at the weapon, her eyes blank, then back at Masaya. "I'm about to head in there, so you need to stay here. If any of those bastards come in here, you take them out, understand?"_

 _The girl stared at Masaya and didn't respond, so he shook her a little. "Understand?"_

 _The girl nodded._

 _"_ _Good." With that, he stood and made his way to the door. "I'll be back soon."_

 _Opening the door carefully, he stepped outside and closed it, making sure to close it well so that it didn't set off any suspicion. Besides, with the racket he was about to make, he was sure that the goons would ignore the door in favour of the bigger target, but it was better to be sure._

 _He then focused on the door that led to the jailing room and checked it with his Smart Vision. When he was sure no one was looking this way, he quietly opened the door and slid inside, closing it just as quickly and quietly. Looking around, the scene he came to made his blood boil._

 _Around the room were cages that were likely meant for farm or circus animals, each one big enough to fit a lion at the most. But instead of cattle or wild animals, these cages were filled with girls. Each of them were in similar states as the girl he'd just rescued, and each one looked to be the same age as well._

 _He quickly hid behind an ammunition crate when he saw a guard approaching his position, making sure the rest of them were busy with other things before reaching out, placing his hand over the man's mouth, and pulling him into his hideout, where he twisted and broke his neck. After confirming his death, Masaya continued on, walking carefully between cages and boxes and taking out every guard he could see, while also making sure to keep the girls around him quiet so that they wouldn't give him away._

 _When it was only one guy remaining, Masaya's luck ran out when the man realised it was a little too quiet for comfort. Turning, the last thing he saw was a gun nozzle in front of his face before Masaya pulled the trigger, blowing his brains on a nearby wall._

 _"_ _Good riddance," Masaya growled looking down at the man._

 _After that, he pulled a ring of keys from one of the corpses and went around to opening the cages. Some girls jumped at him in thankfulness, some others were about as catatonic as the first girl he'd rescued, and even more others were, to his rage, already brainwashed by the bastards. They almost refused to leave, but with the help of the other girls, Masaya was able to convince them that they needed to go._

 _Calling back Mitsuo, Masaya said, "Mitsuo, I've got the girls. I count twenty in here."_

 _"_ _That's the right amount. Get them out of there, Masaya," Mitsuo confirmed._

 _"_ _Understood." Turning to the girls, Masaya spoke in a loud voice, "Alright, we're about to receive some company. I need you all to line the walls next to the door and wait for my signal. Otherwise, you'll die, and I can't let that happen."_

…

"Oh… how ironic those words were…"

…

 _When they had all followed his command, Masaya opened the door carefully and brought out one of the boxes from inside, placing it about halfway down the corridor that led to the room. He could already hear footsteps approaching, but he was able to quickly set up a few mines he had found in one of the ammunition crates in the room, hidden away in shadows around the place, before hiding behind the box and waiting._

 _As soon as he heard the running steps get close enough to his hiding place, Masaya activated the mines._

 _In quick succession, each one of the mines detonated, sending the men flying back, some with screams of pain, others in pieces. When the last bomb went off, Masaya looked on ahead and made sure they were down, only to duck down once again to avoid some bullet fire from the only man that remained standing._

 _"_ _You bastard!" the man yelled out. "You'll pay for this!"_

 _"_ _Yeah, I don't think so," Masaya stated, quickly stepping out and running towards the man while pulling out his Desert Eagle. The man shot at him frantically, but he was only able to hit Masaya's torso, where his vest stopped the bullets, and his arm, where the same thing happened thanks to the material his arm was made of. With a precise shot, Masaya killed the man with a bullet to the head, then, when he stopped to recover, he made sure to finish off the rest._

 _However, once that was done, his blood froze upon hearing another shot, this one muffled… and behind him._

 _Turning around slowly, he saw nothing off about the corridor, and the doors were still closed. However, as much as he refused to believe it, he knew where that shot had come from._

 _Slowly walking towards the place, he stopped in front of the door, almost afraid of what he would find inside. After taking a shaky breath, he grabbed the handle, and opened the door._

 _The sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks._

 _The first thing he spotted was the far wall, which was covered in blood that had been splattered in an upwards fashion._

 _The second thing he became aware of was a smoking gun that was lying next to a corpse._

 _The third thing he processed was the corpse itself._

 _"_ _No… No, no, no, no…" Masaya murmured, stepping towards the body of the girl he had left here._

 _It was simple, yet difficult. The girl had probably heard the gunfire and panicked, or decided it was just too much, placed the gun against her chin… and pulled the trigger._

 _"_ _No!" Masaya yelled, running forward and kneeling by the girl. No matter how he felt… it was far too late. "Why…? Why?! Why did you do that?!"_

 _Masaya's voice shook as he yelled, and in his grief, he never noticed when the door to the jailing room was opened and the girls cautiously stepped out. One of the braver ones stepped forward and looked into the room, gasping when she came upon the scene and drawing the other girls to surround her._

 _…_

"After that, I wasn't aware of much, but I do know that the team outside successfully took down the rest of the bastards and came inside to search the building. And that's exactly where they found me."

The room was deadly silent after the story. Some of the girls, not being able to stand it, had left to the bathroom to puke. Others were simply standing by the walls, shock and horror clear in their faces.

Ruriko had been forced to sit next to Chiho, as the tale had left her so shocked she could hardly stand. The three girls sitting around Masaya were all extremely shaken by the story, and they could hardly imagine what he went through.

"I spent the entirety of yesterday wallowing in my misery," Masaya sighed. "I kept replaying the moment in my head, telling myself what I should and shouldn't have done. I tried to justify my reasons… but they all sounded weak and simply like excuses." Masaya then chuckled, his voice so dead that nobody there could have mistaken it for a mirthful chuckle. "In the end, hindsight is 20/20."

He fell silent at this point, and the entire room was left to digest this story. Masaya didn't even bother to look around, sure that they would hate him for allowing one of their alumnae to die. He was already prepared for the backlash this could cause, which was another reason he didn't want to return immediately yesterday.

He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and came face to face with Rise, who had stood up and knelt in front of him. Before he could say anything, she reached forward and embraced him, putting all of her feelings into the hug. Masaya's eyes widened as he felt the comfort she was trying to pass to him through the hug, and he didn't respond immediately.

"You… are a strong person, Masaya-san," Rise said in a shaky voice, pulling back and smiling at him. "You tried your best to save her. I can see it in your eyes, and hear it in your voice. You _aren't_ at fault for this. You know that, don't you?"

Masaya stared at the girl, his eyes wide and uncomprehending. How could she forgive him that easily?

"She's right," Chiho added, standing up and placing her hand on his shoulder, making him look up at her. "Masaya, you couldn't know. What happened is regrettable, but you saved nineteen other girls, and unfortunately, you aren't omnipotent. You can't save everyone."

"I know that," Masaya insisted, looking down once again. "But I should have never armed her in the first place! I should have known-!"

"Masaya-san!" Rise exclaimed, cutting him off. When he looked at her, she stared into his eyes with determination. "There are many things that should have been, but weren't. I do not know much about what you went through, but for the situation you described, you reacted appropriately. You cannot blame yourself for her death."

"Rise-sama is right," Ritsuko, surprisingly, spoke up, approaching the trio. She looked into Masaya's face with determination and continued. "Masaya-sama, I have heard and read about such kidnappers. If there is anyone to blame, it is them. They are the ones who hurt those girls, and they should be held responsible. And thanks to you, they were."

Masaya stared into the girl's eyes, the cloudiness in them fading slowly.

"I stand with them, Masaya-san," Ruriko spoke, also standing and looking at Masaya. "You did the best you could, but you could not influence everything. What happened is regrettable, as Chiho-san said, but you should not let it destroy your spirit. Instead, take strength from it, and learn from it."

Looking around, Masaya saw that almost every other girl in the room had similar sympathetic and determined eyes, and it all served to clear his mind further. He chuckled, this one much lighter than the last one he had released.

"Thank you… everyone…" Masaya murmured, standing up as well. Looking around and locking eyes with each girl in the room, he spoke with newfound determination. "You're right… I won't let this keep me down. And I won't stop… until I find every last one of those bastards and make sure they receive the punishment they deserve. I can promise you this, though." His eyes narrowed. "So long as I still draw breath. I will do my utmost to protect Vincennes. I had already decided to do so long ago, but now, I am even more determined. I will _not_ let anything happen to any of you."

The girls smiled radiantly at his words, and Rise stepped forward and hugged him tightly, followed by Chiho, then Ruriko. The rest of the girls were more reserved, but he was still thankful for their support.

Finally, Masaya looked around clearly and realised that he had made quite a mess of the room.

"Oh, boy…" Masaya muttered, taking in the wrecked room. "I have to wonder why I get so destructive when I get angry…"

With a shake of his head, he headed to the kitchen and rummaged around it a bit. When he came back to the room, the girls were extremely surprised and amused when they saw that he had put on an apron that was covered in pink hearts over his clothes, and in each of his hands were a broom and a dustpan.

"Well, better get to cleaning."

…

...

...


	7. Chapter 7

A week later found Masaya walking towards the Tsurugigaoka cemetery, where the funeral for the fallen girl, Nasaki Hiromi, was being held. Around him were his friends, who had opted to accompany him, with permission from the headmistress, of course.

Masaya had, of course, paid for the repairs to the wardrobe and glass table he'd broken, which he would have done regardless. He had also ordered a few more sets of shirts, as he had ruined the ones he had thrown around in his tantrum.

The walk was mostly silent, with each of the girls having different behaviours. Rise, Chiho, and Ayaka, who had joined them when she heard Ritsuko was going, were mostly indifferent to the city, as they had become used to the sights. Ruriko, Ritsuko, Konomi, and even Mitsuki, however, were looking around in wonder at the city, Ruriko especially. When he had asked her about her mannerisms, she had told Masaya, "I have never been outside without a bodyguard, and I do not like to disturb them, so I do not venture outside our estate often."

She was the epitome of a sheltered girl.

Finally, they arrived at the place to find it slightly packed. There were many people at the grave of the young woman, who was just being buried. The group decided to stick to the back of the small crowd and simply listened quietly to the priest as he blessed the grave.

Masaya's face was stoic, but his mind was a whirlwind of emotions. As he looked at the picture of the girl he had tried to save, which was propped above her tombstone, he replayed the last moments of the mission in his mind, which served to further cement his resolve.

 _'I promise you, Hiromi-san,'_ the young man thought. _'I will not let your death be in vain. I will do my utmost to stop those scum of the earth who dare try to kidnap innocents like yourself.'_

Around him, the girls noticed Masaya's face become tighter and tighter, until he was directly glaring at the ground. Rise, a worried frown on her face, took a step closer to his side and grabbed his hand, which was curled into a fist, in her own. Masaya visibly relaxed when she did this, and he looked to the side, staring at Rise with some surprise. Rise simply smiled tenderly at him and rubbed his knuckles, which calmed Masaya further and allowed him to get his thoughts and emotions more on track.

The rest of the funeral went as all do, and finally, the crowd began to thin out. Some people left immediately, others remained behind. One by one, people began to go up to the tombstone, paying their respects to the girl they had known. Masaya watched them calmly, waiting.

Finally, it seemed the last person that remained to pay their respects was done, so he slowly stepped up to the grave, his friends remaining by the shade of the large tree they had stopped under. Masaya was aware of a few eyes turned his way, but he didn't allow that to distract him.

Stopping right in front of it, he knelt and stared at the picture of the young woman, who was smiling happily at him.

"Hiromi-san... I've never been a believer of God, but I hope that wherever you are, you are in a better place. You didn't deserve what you went through, and I admire you for your will and for remaining strong the entire time, though I know that everyone has a breaking point. I can't express how sorry I am that I was not able to be there for you fast enough, but I promise that, on my life and honour, I will not let those that made you suffer go unpunished. Rest well, Hiromi-san. You have earned it."

With those words, he stood back up, bowed, and began to make his way back to his friends. Halfway there, however, he was stopped by a couple that looked so much like Hiromi that he could only assume they were her parents. The mother was staring at him balefully and with red eyes, while the father was hanging slightly back and seemed to be looking at him with sympathetic eyes.

"Why...?" Hiromi's mother murmured, her eyes narrowing a little. "Why didn't you save my baby girl...?"

Masaya sighed and bowed his head slightly. "I am truly sorry, madam. I have no excuse but that I am only human. I can't save everyone."

"I heard about you," the mom continued. "You're supposed to be some kind of super soldier, aren't you? You could have saved her! You...!"

Whatever she was going to say was drowned out by another wail that erupted from her throat, and she circumvented Masaya and knelt by the tombstone, crying her daughter's name over and over.

Masaya sighed and looked back momentarily, his heart going out to the woman. When he turned his sight back around, he saw that the father had approached him, rubbing the back of his head in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

"I apologise for that, Masaya-san," the father said respectfully. "We are going through a hard time..."

"I know, sir," Masaya responded with a nod. "I know the pain of losing a family member, and I wish it on no one. You have my condolences and my apologies."

"Yes, well, I was allowed to read the report on what happened," the man said seriously. "I do not hold you at fault, Masaya-san. If anyone is to blame, it is the pigs that dared to kidnap my daughter and push her to her suicide."

A sense of déjà vu came over Masaya at these words.

"I know you are still young, Masaya-san," the father continued. "In your line of work, remember that sometimes, you have to make sacrifices. I understand that my daughter was an unfortunate victim of this incident, though it does not make the pain of losing her lessen."

"If it is any consolation, your daughter fought her captors as best she could before I arrived. She never gave up her humanity or free will, and for that she will always have my respect."

"Hearing your words does this poor heart some good, Masaya-san," the man smiled.

"I hope you have a better day, sir, but I must excuse myself," Masaya said, bowing.

"Of course," the man responded, giving him a bow in return.

As Masaya was walking away however, the man called his name. When he turned back, Hiromi's father was looking at him with sympathy. "Masaya-san... always remember your humanity. It is what makes you, you."

Masaya allowed a small smile to show and nodded. "I will, sir."

With that, the two men went their separate ways, the father to console his grieving wife, and Masaya back to his friends.

"Are you ready to go, Masaya-sama?" Ritsuko was the first to ask when she saw him return.

"Yes," Masaya nodded. "Let's head back."

However, just as they were walking out, the group was stopped by a group of nine girls, who were all just arriving at the cemetery. The girls stared at them with some surprise, which immediately changed when they spotted Masaya in the group. Masaya recognised them immediately as well.

These were some of the girls he had saved back then.

One of them, the oldest appearance-wise, approached him slowly, her eyes wide. "M-Masaya...?"

Masaya remained quiet, simply nodding his head.

"It is you!" the girl cried out, jumping forward and embracing him. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you again!"

"The feeling is mutual," Masaya murmured, hugging the girl back. "I'm happy to see you all looking well. I assume the others are still in the hospital?"

"Yes," the girl pulled back, yet didn't let Masaya go. "We were allowed to come to the burial because we were the most recovered, according to the psychiatrist."

"I see. I'll need to pay them a visit later."

The girl nodded in understanding, then hugged Masaya once again, sobbing. "I... I don't think I... said it back then but... t-thank you... thank you for rescuing us from that prison. I felt so helpless... so alone... and I could see how they... how they treated the other girls... I couldn't stand it; I was sure I was going to go mad! But then..." She pulled back and smiled at Masaya, her eyes shining with tears. "You came along, Masaya. You appeared like a silent angel and saved us. And for that... You have my utmost gratitude."

"I was just doing my job, but..." Masaya looked down momentarily, then placed a hand on the girl's cheek and wiped away her tears. "I'm happy that I could help."

The girl smiled at him brightly and moved away a little, and immediately, two other girls ran forward and embraced him as well. The rest of them came one by one until Masaya was surrounded, each one expressing their gratitude to him as well.

In the end, it took more than a few minutes for Masaya to disentangle himself from the group, and after another chorus of thanks and a promise from Masaya that he would visit them, the group left to pay their respects to their fallen Vincennes classmate, leaving Masaya and his friends by the entrance.

Masaya stared at the group of retreating girls, a small but true smile on his face. The rest of the girls, who had watched everything, were looking between them and him with a similar look, only being able to imagine how the alumni would feel about being rescued from a situation like that.

Finally, Masaya turned and signalled for the girls to follow him, which they did, leaving the cemetery behind. As they walked along the street that would take them back to the city proper, Masaya spoke up.

"You know, now that we're out here, you girls want to get something to eat? My treat."

The girls looked at each other questioningly, then nodded in affirmation.

"What do you have in mind, Masaya?" Chiho asked, walking alongside him.

"Well, I have several ideas. Remember that crepe restaurant you liked so much?" Chiho nodded with a happy smile. "There's also Lavage de Coeur. They're still one of the best bakeries around."

"Oh, I remember! You really like their green tea whip cakes, don't you?" Chiho asked.

"Yep," Masaya nodded. "I never get tired of those." Looking back at the rest of the girls, who were looking at the childhood friends' by-play, he asked, "Unless you girls would rather go to an actual restaurant. Unfortunately, the only one I know of is Pappatore Moon Rock."

Both Ayaka and Ruriko's eyes widen a little at that, a reaction Masaya took note of.

"Are you sure about that one, Masaya-san?" Rise asked, doubtful. "For a group this big, it could be quite costly."

"Rise, I'm rich," Masaya said bluntly and with a little laugh. "I get paid more than well enough to treat you all."

The girls discussed this between themselves for a moment, then came to a consensus and nodded together in acceptance.

...

Sometime later, the group was sitting at one of the bigger booths of the restaurant, chatting happily between themselves. Rise and Ruriko had been the ones to sit at either side of Masaya this time, as Ruriko beat Chiho to the punch. Chiho was sitting on Ruriko's right, with Mitsuki at her side. Next to Rise was Ayaka, then Ritsuko, and finally Konomi.

They had already placed their orders to the waiter, who had given three of their group knowing looks. While Ayaka and Ritsuko expected the looks sent their way, as they were the daughters of the owner, they were confused when the waiter shared a similar look with Masaya and chatted amicably with him for a moment.

"Masaya-kun, do you come here often?" Ayaka asked him after a while.

"Often enough," Masaya said with a smile.

As they continued to talk, Masaya made sure to bring Mitsuki into the conversations as much as he could. She was the quietest out of them all, even quieter than the usually placid Ritsuko, and that was something Masaya didn't want. He wanted them all to be happy and together, conversing like good friends should.

She eventually began to open up a bit more, though she was able to understand Masaya's plan, as she shot him one or two dirty looks when he redirected conversations to her. She couldn't stay mad at him for long, though, as she had to admit that it really was fun to be in a group like this. Ever since she had become the Chef de Corps, she had been somewhat isolated from others and really only interacted with Marika. She had even cut off her friendship with Rise, something she still silently regretted to this day. But now, with Masaya's help, she was able to reintegrate herself with the others, and she was thankful to him for that.

Finally, their orders arrived sometime later, but to everyone's surprise, the owner himself had come to place them at their table.

"Hello, everyone," the man said happily, placing everyone's orders on the table. He then turned to his two daughters and greeted them personally. "Aya-chan, Ritsu-chan, shouldn't you be in school?"

"Father, we had an... event to attend," Ritsuko explained somewhat.

"Ah, I see," their father nodded, almost sagely. "That's good. It's never a good thing to be cooped up so long." He then looked at the rest of the people. "So these are your friends, eh?" His friendly smile made it clear that he didn't mean it in a condescending manner.

When his eyes landed on Masaya, however, his smile became an 'o', and his eyebrows raised. "Well, I'll be. Masaya-san, you're friends with my daughters?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow in return. "Koji-san, you didn't know? I attend Vincennes now."

"What?!" Koji definitely looked surprised at that, yet not as surprised as his daughters were at the friendly talking between their father and Masaya. "Since when?"

"I started this year," Masaya explained. "I thought that, since your wife is the headmistress, you would have known that. She never mentioned it?"

"Well, now that you mention it, she might have once or twice..." Koji murmured, looking down. He then looked back at Masaya with a mischievous smile. "... Maybe fifty times."

Both men shared a laugh at that, further confusing the girls.

"Father, you know Masaya-sama?" Ritsuko asked curiously.

"Oh, yes, quite well," Koji said with a grin. "He's not only a regular here, he's also the one who saved me."

"What?! He's the one who...?" Ayaka spoke up with shock.

"Yep," her father said simply, and likely would have continued had one of his co-workers not called out to him. "Oh dear, I need to get back to work! Bye Aya-chan, Ritsu-chan! Say hi to your mother for me!"

And with that, he was gone, leaving two shocked girls, five confused ones, and a highly amused young man.

"Can somebody fill us in?" Chiho asked, looking at the three people that weren't confused.

Ritsuko decided to do so. "Almost a year ago, Father came home looking more worn-out than usual. When we asked him what happened, he told us that he was almost killed in a gangster situation that happened here."

The five originally confused girls were now shocked.

"He said that two opposing gangster groups accosted each other just outside the restaurant," Ayaka picked up the conversation. "And a few minutes later, it became a physical confrontation. There were a few gunshots, and my father was almost hit by one, but he was tackled by a young man and saved. Said young man..." She gave Masaya a side glance, then continued. "... He went out and took them out himself, then called in the cops. Father was almost starry-eyed by the end of his story."

"And that was you, Masaya-san?" Rise asked, wonder in her voice.

Masaya nodded in confirmation. "It was rather lucky that I chose that day to eat out. I had already done a few missions on the field by that point, so taking the goons out wasn't particularly hard. I was sitting... just over there." Masaya pointed at a table near the entrance to the kitchen, where one could sit without being seen easily. "I had just spotted Koji-san coming out of the kitchen when the gunfight started, and my instincts took over. I tackled him to the ground, took shelter by one of the blown windows, and worked on systematically taking them out. It was much easier than I'd first thought it would be because the two groups, despite knowing that I was there, refused to work together. I don't know what they were fighting about, but at this point, I don't particularly care."

"I'm confused about one thing," Konomi spoke up. "If you saved Onee-sama and Ayaka-sama's father, why do they only know of it now?"

"She's correct," Mitsuki spoke up. "I would think you would receive some kind of commendation."

"Ah, that's where my influence comes in," Masaya responded, raising a finger. "Before I went back to the office to turn in my report, I specifically told Koji-san that I didn't want any kind of recognition for this. I wanted to keep it on the down low."

"But why?" Rise, Ruriko, and Chiho all spoke up.

"Because it would have just brought more trouble than it was worth," Masaya explained. "I felt like I did what anyone in my position would do, so I didn't think I particularly deserved an award or anything. More than that, I didn't want my name to get back to the other gangsters out in the city. Last thing I needed was groups of gangsters on my tail wanting revenge for taking out one of their allies or something."

"So that's why Father wouldn't speak about who it was," Ayaka summarised, looking at Masaya with a smirk and half-lidded eyes. "Oh, Masaya-kun, you're more impressive than I thought."

Masaya chuckled. "Well, thank you. By the way, your food is getting cold. Shall we dig in?"

The girls nodded, and with a united call of 'itadakimasu', the group began to eat.

...

As they began to finish up their meals, Ruriko, who had been the first to finish, was sitting quietly at the table, staring into it with blank eyes. The others had noticed, but decided to wait and see if she would say anything. However, after everyone had finished and she had yet to speak, Masaya decided to take the initiative and placed a hand on her shoulder, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Ruriko-san, is everything alright? You've been very quiet," Masaya asked, his concern clear on his face.

Looking around, Ruriko noted that all the other girls looked just as worried, so she smiled.

"I apologise. I was just thinking about…" She paused for a moment, then turned back to Masaya. "Masaya-san, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing," Masaya responded. "Whatever you want."

"Have you ever been in love?"

That question made everyone draw back in surprise, Masaya more so than anyone else. When Ruriko's question was fully processed, everyone turned to the person that had been put on the spot, who had a hand to his chin and was deep in thought.

Masaya had to think deep and hard about that one. He was certainly attracted to girls, especially some of the girls around him. But love?

After some moments, he responded.

"I… I don't know, honestly. I don't think I'm in love, at least. I may be in the future, but not now."

"I see," Ruriko sighed. She looked to the rest of the table for their thoughts.

"With my Onee-sama!" Konomi responded immediately.

"Not currently, no," Ritsuko responded after sighing at Konomi's response.

"Same for me," Mitsuki concurred.

"I think that I am," Ayaka sighed, winking at Masaya, who chuckled.

"Easy, girl," he said jokingly.

The only ones who had yet to respond were Rise and Chiho. Both girls were glancing at Masaya every so often, and were sporting strong blushes.

"N-No, I do not think so," Rise stuttered out.

"Ditto," Chiho said.

"I see," Ruriko repeated. "I believe I am the same. And there is a reason why I asked you this question."

The seriousness in her tone took everyone by surprise and made them straighten up.

"The truth is… I have an arranged marriage."

A shocked silence overtook the table. Then, a moment later, there were a multitude of reactions.

Chiho jumped out of her seat, crying out, "What?!"

Rise, Ayaka, and Mitsuki were shocked beyond belief. They knew that arranged marriages were a rare custom nowadays, but to hear it…

Konomi stared at Ruriko in surprise and a little dread, wondering how she'd feel if it was herself in Ruriko's place.

Ritsuko simply closed her eyes and let out a sad sigh.

Masaya seemed to have no outward reaction, but behind his shades, his eyes had widened considerably. However, he wasn't so shocked that he had lost his sense of awareness, as he reached around Ruriko and grabbed Chiho's arm.

"Chiho, sit down. You're making a scene," Masaya ordered sternly.

"Oh… right," Chiho said sheepishly, sitting down. She then turned to Ruriko. "But… you mean, like a fiancé?"

"Yes," Ruriko nodded.

"But… why? How?"

"It was set up by my father with the son of a friendly companion," Ruriko said, looking down. "He is certainly handsome and prosperous… but…"

"You don't have feelings for him," Masaya summarised, looking at Ruriko with indescribable eyes.

Ruriko nodded.

"I am not sure if it is shallow, but… ever since meeting you, Masaya-san, I have begun to unconsciously compare you with him, and in my eyes, you far outshine him. You are gentler, a better man, and I actually feel attracted to you," Ruriko admitted softly. "That is why I wished to learn more about you, and men in general."

Masaya smiled softly. The rest of the girls, however, were a little less accepting of that.

"Wait, Ruriko-san," Chiho said, a little outrage in her voice. "Is that why you brought this up?! You want to…" She sent a meaningful glance towards Masaya.

"Huh?" Ruriko asked in confusion, which cleared when she saw the glance towards the young man. "Oh, no. I didn't mean to ask Masaya to become my fiancé… though, truthfully, I would not mind it. I am merely stating how I feel."

"Oh… alright," Chiho said, calming down.

The girls around had nothing particular to say to the situation. Masaya was deep in thought.

"Ruriko-san…" Masaya spoke, drawing her attention. "Are you simply telling us of the situation, or asking us for advice?"

"The latter," Ruriko confirmed. "I do not wish to snub my father's wish, but I do not love that man. My father claims that I will grow to love him, but…" She shuddered lightly. "I saw… something in him last week when we met. We have been meeting once a month ever since the arranged marriage was made, and in our last meeting, he ordered a special drink, but was told that they had no more. In that moment, I saw a flash of… rage enter his eyes. I believe he is accustomed to getting his way, and when he does not…" She shuddered again. "I can only imagine."

As she spoke, Masaya's frown had become more and more pronounced, until he was almost glaring at the glass of soda in front of him. A moment later, he closed his eyes and sighed, drawing everyone's attention.

"Ruriko-san…" He looked up at the girl, withdrawing his shades and meeting her eyes. "This is only my opinion, but I believe that arranged marriages are an outdated practice. Your heart is your own, and if you aren't attracted to this man at all, then you cannot grow to love him in one or ten years. At your age, especially, you need to have freedom and the power of choice. And if your choice leads you down a bad path, then you will learn a valuable lesson from it and have experience for the future. You may be young, but you are not a child."

The girls stared at Masaya in wonder, emboldened by his words.

"He is correct, Ruriko-san," Rise concurred. "Pardon me for saying this, and I mean no offense to your parents, but… it seems as though your father does not want you to know love."

"That is was I was thinking as well," Mitsuki nodded.

"It would certainly make sense," Konomi said.

Ruriko remained quiet, thinking over everyone's words. Masaya looked around, taking in everyone's profiles, and was somewhat surprised to see Ritsuko and Ayaka share a meaningful look.

"You are correct," Ruriko finally said. "I have made my decision. The next time we meet, I will turn him down firmly."

Everyone nodded.

"Do let your parents know the reasons, though," Masaya warned her. "If you do so out of the blue, it could have bad consequences. I would recommend talking with your father beforehand and trying to get your point across. If he refuses to see your point and you still do not want the marriage, then turn the man down."

"I understand, Masaya-san, and thank you," Ruriko said with a smile, laying her head against his arm and closing her eyes blissfully. Masaya chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Glad to help, and thank you for trusting us with this."

…

Sometime later, Masaya asked for the check and placed a card on the booklet. This had most of the girls raise eyebrows, wondering just how well off Masaya was. Rise, being the only one to have been in Masaya's apartment, figured he had to be pretty well off. Perhaps not at the level of the Vincennes girls, especially Ruriko, but close.

Finally, they left the restaurant, with Koji coming out and bidding them goodbye personally. They boarded one of the last buses that went to Vincennes and sat at the very back, with Masaya taking a seat right in between Ruriko and Chiho this time. Konomi and Ritsuko were seated at adjacent seats, but no matter what Konomi did or said, Ritsuko hardly reacted. In fact, she was oddly pensive the entire ride.

When they arrived at the school, the group entered and walked together until they reached the Final Course dormitory, where they split to go to their separate rooms. Konomi went to hang out with Ritsuko for some time, with Ayaka following behind. Mitsuki said her goodbyes and left as well, and the White Lily associates and leader split at the second floor, each going to their own rooms and each one nursing separate thoughts.

For Masaya, Ruriko's earlier question was still ringing in his head.

 _"_ _Have you ever been in love?"_

As he took of his jacket and laid down on the bed, he sighed and looked up at the ceiling, a small frown on his face.

Was he in love? That was a difficult question to answer. He had to admit that he was attracted to many of his friends, as each had their great qualities. But love? Was he even allowed to love someone? Even with his… deformities?

He was sure that if his friends were there and could hear his thoughts, they'd be smacking him upside the head for even thinking that, but even with his time spent here, his old insecurities had yet to disappear.

With a sigh, he decided to leave it for another time and got ready for bed.

…

...

...


	8. Chapter 8

A few days later, Masaya and Ruriko were standing on the roof of the dormitory, watching the sunset, as had become their routine lately. Ruriko still brought the jacket she had kept, but since the days were becoming hotter, she found that she hardly needed it.

As the sun finished its trip under the horizon, Ruriko turned and began to walk towards the door, stopping a few moments later when she noticed that Masaya had yet to follow.

"Masaya-san?"

Masaya turned and waved at her. "You go on, Ruriko-san. I'd like to stay here a little longer."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, thank you. Good night, Ruriko-san."

"Good night, Masaya-san." With a few glances back, Ruriko opened the door and left the roof, leaving Masaya alone.

The young man sighed, then spoke up. "Alright, what is it, Jason?"

 _"_ _You'll be interested in this one, Masaya. The office is giving you a private assignment, and it's urgent."_

Suddenly, Masaya's view was filled with the feed of a security camera, which showed him a nearly deserted street. He recognised the sign of the bakery Lavage de Coeur, but it seemed like not many people were walking around. Then, out of the bakery came a person that, even with the slightly scratchy and black-and-white footage, he could easily recognise.

He watched as the girl stepped outside and looked into the contents of her bag, then began to walk away. However, she didn't get far before an all-black car slowed down just next to her, with the passenger-side door opening up just in front of her. A hand shot out of the car, grabbing the girl's hand and pulling her inside quickly and easily. The door then closed and the car sped off.

Nobody noticed what had happened, save for the security camera, the feed of which Masaya was looking at now.

The young man was gritting his teeth in anger, his fists clenched tightly enough that the metal groaned a little. With a level, yet powerful voice, he said, "How long ago was this?"

 _"_ _It's only been a few minutes since it happened,"_ Jason responded. _"One of our operatives was scanning the cameras and came across the footage just as it was happening. I assume you recognise the girl."_

"Of course I do," Masaya growled. "Orders?"

 _"_ _Find her, Masaya. That is all. You are allowed full reign of this mission."_

"Understood. Masaya out."

Still gritting his teeth, Masaya turned and began to stalk towards the door, his jacket flowing in the wind that had picked up. He needed to go see someone first.

…

"Coming," Ritsuko called out as she heard her door being knocked on.

She had spent the last few days almost always holed up in her room, going over Masaya's words incessantly. She could easily compare Ruriko's situation to her own, but unlike her, Ruriko was trustful enough to ask for advice, and had enough courage to turn down the man she had been promised to. Could she do the same? She would have never thought it before, but Masaya's influence had truly changed the girl.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to see the very subject of her thoughts standing at the threshold. His crossed arms, stiff pose, and narrowed eyes immediately told her that whatever he was thinking, it was serious.

"Good evening, Ritsuko," Masaya greeted her.

"Salutations, Masaya-sama," she greeted in return. "Is there something you needed?"

"Yes," Masaya nodded. "Just out of curiosity, do you happen to know where Ayaka-sama is at the moment?"

Ritsuko looked down, pensive, then shook her head. "No."

"Hmm… I see. Thank you."

He was about to turn away when he heard Ritsuko's phone suddenly ring, signalling an email had arrived.

"Oh? That is my phone," Ritsuko murmured, pulling it from her pocket and looking at it. Masaya stood there while she looked at it, and wasn't completely surprised when she shook her head in exasperation and murmured, "Oh, sister…"

"Was that from Ayaka-sama?" Masaya asked neutrally.

Ritsuko glanced at him and nodded.

"Let me take a wild guess," Masaya said, already turning away. "She's been abducted by gangsters and needs help."

The shocked silence behind him confirmed his suspicions.

"Masaya-sama, how did you…?" Ritsuko asked, dumbfounded.

"I got a call from my employer a few minutes ago telling me the exact same thing. I wanted to check in and see if you had been contacted by her or her kidnappers, just in case," Masaya explained, turning back halfway. "Unfortunately, my tracking software can't extend far enough to cover the city, so I also need your help somewhat. Do you know of some way that I can find out where she is?"

Ritsuko remained silent for some time, then looked up. "Well, our cell phones have a GPS tracking feature."

Masaya remained quiet for a few seconds, then face-palmed. "Damnit, why didn't I remember that? Do you know how we can get that info?"

"We'd have to go talk to my mother, the headmistress," Ritsuko grimaced. It seemed she didn't particularly enjoy her mother's company, and Masaya couldn't blame her.

"Do you know if she's in her office at the moment?" Masaya asked, an idea forming in his head.

"I am not sure."

"Then let's go check. If she's not there, then I can work on something."

…

As they approached the office, Masaya slowed down to let Ritsuko catch up. She had insisted to tag along, but she was unable to fully keep up with his running stride, what with the little amount of exercise she had gotten in her life.

When they were in front of the headmistress' door, Ritsuko knocked on it. There was no answer, so she tried again while Masaya scanned the room with his Smart Vision.

"Don't bother, she's not in there," Masaya stopped Ritsuko, pulling her back somewhat. "Alright, I'm going in. If you see anyone coming, warn me."

"Masaya-san, what do you plan to do?" Ritsuko asked apprehensively.

"Something that would definitely get me expelled from here, but for Ayaka-sama's life, it's worth it."

Masaya dislocated his index finger and extended it to the keyhole. A small blade extended from it, and Masaya moved it around the lock until he heard it give out a tell-tale click. Carefully, he opened the door and slipped in, giving Ritsuko a reassuring smile and a thumbs up before closing it and locking it once again.

In the darkened office, he crouched and carefully stalked towards the only computer there, his night vision activating automatically. He stopped in front of the computer and booted it up, activating his hacking augmentation when he was shown the login screen. It took more time than he hoped, but he was granted access without triggering any alarms, and he even got a small amount of information off one of the databanks on it.

Scanning the computer quickly, he found the GPS tracking software and opened it, typing in Ayaka's phone number and checking the location. Once the location popped up, he was surprised.

"My old apartment?" Masaya murmured. "How odd…"

He saved the coordinates to his chip, then decided to go for it and download the GPS tracking system entirely. As the download began, Masaya prepared to shut down the computer, but stopped momentarily when he heard a noise outside.

"Ah, Mother," Ritsuko said, making Masaya curse under his breath. "You are still here."

"Yes, Ritsuko, I merely had to step outside for a moment," the headmistress responded. "Why are you here? I would have assumed you would be in bed right now."

"Ah, I just wanted to ask you a question."

The download was almost done.

"Well? Ask away."

"Have… um… Do you know where Sister is? She wasn't in her room."

There was a snort and a jingle of keys outside.

"I do not know where Ayaka-san is, but if I had to guess, she is probably outside, being a delinquent like usual."

Ding! The download was done. Masaya quickly shut off the computer and activated his footstep silencer, walking to stand right next to the door and also activating his invisibility augmentation, which took a strong toll on his energy, just as the headmistress opened the door.

"Is that all?" The headmistress asked as she entered, holding the door open at just the right angle for Masaya to carefully step outside. Neither female noticed a thing.

"Ah… yes, that's all," Ritsuko nodded, looking into the room with relief. She bowed and wished her mother good night, then began to walk away, deep in thought.

"Did he already leave?" she wondered aloud, looking to the sides.

As she passed a T-angled hallway, she was startled by a voice to her left.

"Good job."

Looking at the third hallway, she was relieved to see Masaya leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his face set into a smile.

"Thanks to that small intervention of yours, I was able to get the info and get out in time. Now, I'll be going."

As he was turning away, Masaya felt a hand land on his arm.

"I'm going with you," Ritsuko said determinedly.

Masaya turned halfway and gave her a deadpan stare. "No freakin' way."

"Masaya-sama, that is my sister that is in danger. I will go with you," Ritsuko repeated.

"And I am telling you that no, you're not coming with me," Masaya repeated, his eyes narrowing. "You're staying right here and calling me if any new developments happen."

Ritsuko seemed ready to continue pressing her case, but Masaya placed a finger against her lips, silencing her.

"Ritsuko-chan, I can't risk it," Masaya said, his eyes and use of the –chan honorific showing just how much he cared for her wellbeing. "I don't want anything to happen to you. Besides, I'll be fine on my own, but I can't always be there to protect you if something happens."

Ritsuko leaned back a little and nodded, disappointment clear in her posture. Masaya leaned down a little and pressed his lips to her forehead, smiling when she started and looked at him in surprise.

"I'll bring her back, safe and sound. I promise."

With that, he turned and began to run, knowing he didn't have much time and leaving behind a confused and worried young woman who was softly rubbing her forehead.

…

As Masaya approached the gates, he slowed down and hid behind a tree. He knew that the Gardiane station had a few cameras set up around the gate, but it was far away enough that if something did happen, it would take longer than needed for the Gardiane to arrive at the gate itself.

Scanning the area around the gates, Masaya spotted the cameras that were hidden around and planned out a route. Knowing he didn't have much energy to spare, he slowly walked around the cameras, making sure that they couldn't see him before moving to the next point. He was glad that there were so many trees around the gates, as it made it easier to move around unnoticed.

As he approached the gates, he took a right and decided to simply jump over the wall to the right of it, where the cameras weren't pointing. When he was just in front of it, he became aware of footsteps coming from his left and quickly jumped, grabbing onto the edge with his hands and boosting himself on top of the wall. There was no moon tonight, so he was nearly invisible due to his dark clothing. The Gardiane officer stepped by and continued on her way without even spotting the young man. Masaya sighed and dropped onto the other side, making his way to the road just as carefully.

When he was sure he was out of sight, he ran to where the road was and stopped next to the bus stop, whereupon he looked down the road. It seemed practically deserted.

Perfect.

He walked to the very centre of the road, then took off his shoes and jumped slightly. As soon as he did, he activated a relatively new augmentation that he had gotten just a week before coming to Vincennes.

Out of the soles of his feet popped out wheels.

As Masaya landed, he held his arms to the side to balance himself, then made sure he was comfortable enough to have a quick ride. The wheels that he had implanted at the soles of his feet were enhanced rollerblading wheels, which were made of a strong plastic so that it would take much longer than usual for them to wear out.

"Whoever had this idea, I love you," Masaya murmured into the air. "Platonically, of course."

After making sure nothing on his person would fall out on the trip, he pushed forward and began to rollerblade down the hill.

…

As he was reaching the bottom of the hill, Masaya had picked up quite a bit of speed. He almost looked like a blur, and he was crouched slightly to further balance himself. When he spotted the road he was supposed to take, he leaned into the curve and easily slid in, then slowed down enough to stop just as he entered the city. After stopping in an alleyway, he retracted the wheels and put his shoes back on, then made his way out of the alley and into another one, following his recently installed GPS tracking system to follow the signal of Ayaka's phone. Thankfully, the streets were somewhat deserted tonight, so he was able to make his way unimpeded.

As he approached the ratty old building where he used to live before he had been given his current apartment, Masaya checked the tracking system and confirmed that Ayaka was inside. When he was sure she was, he stopped by the stairs and ate a cyber-boost bar he had stored in his jacket before he was even contacted by Jason. Then, he began to ascend the stairs, stopping just before turning the corner to the second floor walkway. He looked around it, and seeing no one, he continued on, walking to the door where the tracking system was telling him Ayaka was. There, he stopped and leaned against the wall to the side before checking it with his Smart Vision.

What he saw enraged him.

Standing side by side were two men he was well acquainted with: the Goons, a pair of gangsters that were the original duo that was chasing after his father. After he and Masaya had fled the city, they had transferred the debt to another group of gangsters that were much more cruel and closer to his mother's place, thus planting the mark on his family's head.

Tied up in a corner was Ayaka, her position indicating her hands and legs were tightly tied. If the shaking of her body was any indication, she was also crying.

Focusing his hearing, he listened to what was going on through the flimsy door.

"Damn, he hung up," the younger man, Kyoshi, muttered.

"He didn't believe his own daughter was kidnapped?" the boss asked, perplexed.

"Seems like it. I wonder why…"

"Because… I'm the boy that cried wolf too often…" Ayaka said in a broken voice.

"What?! You're a boy?!" Kyoshi yelled.

"Idiot…" both Masaya and the boss muttered, with the boss continuing. "Here, just go buy us some smokes, Kyoshi."

"Ah, yes, boss," Kyoshi said, turning to the door.

Masaya tensed and waited, watching as the man approached the door. Just as he grabbed the handle and began to open the door, Masaya stepped in front of it, making the man draw back in surprise when he fully opened the door.

"Who the f-?!" That was as far as Kyoshi got before Masaya's fist caught him on the stomach, winding the man and making him spit out blood. As the two others in the room began to recover from the shock, Masaya stepped inside the room quickly, grabbed Kyoshi's arm, and with one sweeping movement, threw him right into his boss, sending the both of them crashing to the floor. Kyoshi was gasping and trying to get some air into his lungs, while the boss was busy scrambling and trying to get out from under the man.

Masaya stalked towards them, a powerful glare visible on his face. He leaned back when he saw the boss free his arm and aim a gun his way, just dodging the shot that was aimed at his head. Jumping forward, he kicked the gun out of the man's hand, then punched his lights out. Once he was sure the man was unconscious, he did the same to Kyoshi, who fell into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness with a groan.

Masaya straightened and sighed, shaking his head. He looked to the side and noticed that Ayaka was staring at him in shock, having never seen him on the field. Walking towards the young woman, Masaya slid his blade out and made quick work of her wrappings.

"Can you stand?" he asked, holding a hand out.

"Y-Yeah," Ayaka responded haltingly, placing her hand on his and letting him pull her up. "Masaya-kun, how…?"

"I'll explain that later," Masaya assured her, turning and closing the door. He turned back to the Goons and leaned them against the wall of the same corner Ayaka had been tied up in, using those ropes pieces to tie their heads together by their necks. It was a crude job, but it worked.

"Masaya-kun, what are you doing?" Ayaka asked, watching as Masaya worked.

"I have a bit of… unfinished business with these two," Masaya responded vaguely, standing over the two men. "Now, we wait."

It was no more than a minute later when the boss began to stir, wincing as he felt the pain in his jaw and the tightness against his neck. When he opened his eyes, he was startled to be looking right at the barrel of a gun.

"W-What the-?!"

"Quiet," Masaya growled. "You and I need to have a talk."

The boss stared at Masaya impassively. "What do you want? You already have the girl, right?"

"That's not what I want to talk about," Masaya said, retracting his shades and leaning in, though he never took the gun away from the man's head. "Take a look at my face. Ring any bells?"

The boss stared into Masaya's face, then looked at his hair, before his eyes lit up.

"You're that kid that was with…"

"Yes, that's me," Masaya nodded, leaning back. "It's good to see I'm not easily forgotten."

"What the hell happened to you?" The boss asked.

"Really? You're really asking me that?" Masaya asked rhetorically. Then, out of nowhere, he slammed the butt of his gun against the man's temple, making him shout in pain. "You fucking happened!" Masaya yelled. "You put those guys on our tail, and long story short, it resulted in the Masaya you're looking at!"

The boss stared into Masaya's face incredulously, wondering about the young man's transformation. In another corner of the room, Ayaka watched the ongoing questioning with some fear, not understanding how this aggressive Masaya came to be.

"You… I can't really blame you for my father's death, as even I had to admit that he had it coming," Masaya said in a short tone, glaring at the boss. "But because of the trail you put those other gangsters on, not only did they put me in this state, but they killed an innocent woman: my mother!"

The boss' eyes widened, and he looked down.

"I haven't come to extract revenge, so you don't have to worry about that," Masaya assured him. "I simply came to ask you to give me information on the very group that came after my family."

The boss remained silent for some time, then looked up at Masaya.

"No can do, kid."

Masaya growled and pressed the gun to the man's forehead, drawing back the hammer slowly and making the old man apprehensive. "Are you sure that information is worth what little life you have left?"

The boss glanced to the side and looked at Ayaka, though if he was looking for some kind of help, he would be hard pressed to find it in her.

"No, it's not because of that," the man hurried to say. "They… they're very secretive. I don't know anything but their names."

"Then tell me that!"

"T-The boss' name is Hashimoto Gorou!" the man exclaimed frantically. "There's not much known about his group, but they're ruthless!"

"I figured that last part out on my own, thanks," Masaya snarled at the man. "Thanks for your cooperation. The police are on their way, so be good boys and stay here, would you? Oh, and that rope around your neck? You move even a few inches, and your partner's going to choke to death before you can undo the knot, understood?"

The man nodded, relaxing somewhat now that the gun barrel was out of his face.

Masaya turned and waved for Ayaka to follow him, which she did. Once they were outside, Masaya locked the door and made sure that it wouldn't open particularly easily, then put his gun away and began to walk away from the apartment, with Ayaka following just behind him.

…

Ayaka was following Masaya's lead, so she was surprised when he led her to another building that was only a few blocks away from where they had left. Once inside the building, they took the elevator to the fifth floor, then Masaya led her to apartment 5F. Pulling out a key, Masaya opened the door and entered.

"Come on in," Masaya said, holding the door open. Ayaka reluctantly did so, and Masaya closed the door behind her, then went to make tea while Ayaka waited in the living room.

"You can take a seat, you know. Make yourself at home," Masaya said when he returned, holding two cups of steaming tea.

Ayaka nodded and took a seat, taking one of the proffered cups and holding it lightly. Masaya took a seat on a high-backed chair across from her, holding his own tea.

The two of them sat in silence for a long time, with the only sounds being the sips from their drinking. Now that she could relax like this, Ayaka's body was nearly falling asleep due to the release of adrenaline, though her mind was still racing a mile a minute.

Finally, just when she was thinking of saying something, Masaya beat her to the punch.

"I'm sorry you had to see that."

She started a little and looked at him.

"I normally don't like to show it to others, but I learned early on in my career that it was best for me to have a completely different persona while at work. That's why I acted like that. When I'm on the field... I let go of my usual inhibitions and become more cruel and merciless. It's what's helped me survive this far."

As Ayaka stared at the young man, she could see how much using that persona affected him. He looked withdrawn, as if he was feeling tired from the persona change.

And with that, she could sympathize.

"It's alright, Masaya-kun. I can understand wearing a mask like that."

Masaya remained quiet, wondering where this was going, yet having a nagging feeling in his head.

With the aftermath of the failed kidnapping, plus the soothing feeling of the tea, she felt extremely relaxed, and thus, had no inhibitions about telling Masaya this.

Masaya sat and listened attentively as Ayaka suddenly began to talk about herself to him. She spoke of growing up being only loved by her father. Her mother, the headmistress, continuously berated her, ignored her, and even told her straight up when Ayaka was young that she was not her child, but that of her father's previous lover, Tomie, who had apparently cheated on Koji so much that he sought love in the headmistress's arms. Her father never truly stood up for her, not wanting to get between his wife and Ayaka, which led to Ayaka having to make do on her own emotionally.

As she grew up in Vincennes, she began to create the mask of a clown to isolate herself from the other girls and keep her true self hidden away, but also to try and get attention from her mother, who, to this day, still continued her cold treatment towards her daughter, as Masaya had seen just before he had exited the headmistress's office earlier.

The only person who had been able to see past her mask was her sister Ritsuko. That is, until Masaya had come into the picture.

"And look at where we are now," Ayaka chuckled humourlessly. "I was almost kidnapped and taken from my family... because they didn't believe I was telling the truth... Because I've played the clown for so long that... I've become one..."

Ayaka seemed almost on the edge of a breakdown, so Masaya acted quickly and stood, walking over and sitting next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and rubbed it comfortingly. Ayaka leaned into the touch unconsciously, then suddenly wrapped her arms around Masaya's torso and began to bawl into his chest, letting out what could have been years of frustration and pain. Masaya may have known some of what she felt, but he couldn't claim he knew all. All he could do was rub her shoulder comfortingly.

Eventually, the crying subsided, but Ayaka never let go of Masaya, wanting to have someone to hold right now. Masaya didn't object.

...

Sometime later, Masaya checked the time and realized that it would soon be eleven. Remembering a certain Kitamikado that was probably going bonkers with worry, Masaya looked at Ayaka to tell her to call her sister, and stopped in amusement.

Ayaka had fallen asleep on his chest and was snoring lightly away.

Masaya shook his head and decided he might as well let her. She had been through a lot tonight, and the rush of adrenaline would most likely leave anyone tired after a good tea.

Carefully, Masaya reached down and picked up Ayaka bridal-style. Once he had a secure hold, he walked over to the guest bedroom and opened it with his foot, pushing the door open carefully so as to make no noise. He laid Ayaka on the bed, where she immediately moved around and got comfortable, and slowly took off her shoes. Once she was fully on the bed, he covered her with the sheet and walked to the door, looking back once to make sure she was fine. With that, he left the room and carefully closed the door, then headed to his own room.

He needed to make two calls.

...

Later that night, Masaya was awakened by an odd sound. Opening his eyes quickly and sitting up, he looked around but saw no one and nothing set to attack him, so he relaxed.

"The hell was that?" The young man wondered aloud, until the sound came again.

It was an unmistakably feminine cry.

Masaya immediately stood up and went over to Ayaka's room, being sure to check it with Smart Vision beforehand so that he wouldn't run into any potentially awkward situations.

Instead, what he saw made him frown in sympathy.

Slowly, he opened the door and stepped inside, walking at a calm pace towards the bed, where Ayaka was constantly tossing and turning, letting out soft yet perfectly audible cries every so often, which was what woke him.

He sat at the edge of the bed, watching her toss for a moment. He could see a sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her eyes were shut tight, her teeth were clenched, and she kept reaching out for something. She whispered names aloud at times, mostly Masaya's, Tomie's, the headmistress's, Ritsuko's, and her father's.

Reaching out, Masaya softly grabbed Ayaka's wandering hand, slowly but firmly bringing it close to him. Ayaka stopped tossing, as if wondering what or who this was, then relaxed a little when Masaya softly massaged her hand, running his metal ones over her palm and her knuckles.

"It's okay, Ayaka-san," Masaya murmured softly. "You're safe. You can sleep in peace."

The girl seemed to relax further as he said this, then suddenly, she stirred, and her eyes opened groggily. "... Masaya-kun?"

"Yeah, it's me," Masaya responded.

"What... Where am I? Why are you here?"

"Well, we're in my apartment. It's one in the morning. As to why I'm here..." Masaya sighed and looked at her. "You were having a nightmare. I heard you from my room, so I came to investigate."

Ayaka nodded and looked down, not even having the strength to make a joke. Masaya also stayed quiet, letting her think about what she wanted to do. If she wished to talk, he'd be there for her, of course.

Suddenly, Ayaka shuddered and shifted closer to Masaya, grabbing his arm. "Masaya-kun..."

"Yes?"

Ayaka stayed quiet for another minute, with Masaya waiting patiently. Finally, she looked down and whispered a few words.

"Would you... hold me until I fall asleep again?"

Masaya's eyes widened a little, but a moment later, his features softened and he nodded. "Of course."

Ayaka shifted back a little and Masaya moved forward, sitting next to her. Almost immediately, she grabbed his torso, pulling him close and buying her face into his chest. He responded appropriately and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling her shaking slowly.

More to keep her mind off the dream, he spoke to her with a soft voice. "Not that I don't like it, but you're awfully trusting to allow me to do this, Ayaka-san."

Ayaka shook her head. "Please don't think badly of me, Masaya-kun. I don't think I could fall asleep alone right now."

"I understand. And don't worry..." Masaya pulled her a bit closer, using one of his hands to brush her hair lightly. "I could never think badly of you."

...

...

...

Early the next day, Masaya found himself waking up in the guest bedroom, his arms still wrapped around Ayaka, who was sound asleep. Carefully disentangling himself from her (and forcing back a snort when he heard her mewl in displeasure, a sound he never thought he'd heard from her), Masaya walked over to the door and exited the room, heading to his own in order to freshen up.

About half an hour later, Masaya was making breakfast for the two of them. Ayaka had yet to awaken, so when he had set everything on the table, the young man walked over to the guest bedroom and opened the door, looking into the room.

Ayaka was still sound asleep on the bed.

With a sigh of mixed amusement and irritation, Masaya walked towards her bed and leaned down, poking her forehead lightly. "Ayaka-san, wake up."

The only response he got was a small grumble and a shift.

He poked her again.

She shifted a little more.

Finally, he poked her a third time, this time on her stomach.

That definitely woke her up.

"Good morning," Masaya said cheerfully.

The only response he got was a stare that was both confused and annoyed.

"Masaya… kun…?" she muttered.

"That's my name. Now come on, Sleeping Beauty, or we're going to be late for class. The bathroom's to your right," Masaya called out as he began to walk back out of the room, completely missing the blush that suffused Ayaka's face when he called her Sleeping Beauty. Checking the time and remembering that they still had some classes on Saturdays, Ayaka quickly stood and ran to the bathroom.

Masaya was just exiting the room when he heard her jump into the bathroom. Looking back momentarily, he realised two things as soon as he looked at the wardrobe in the room. With a shake of his head, he opened the top one and pulled out a pair of panties that he made sure were unused before setting them out on the bed in plain sight.

Walking out of the room, he served himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, slowly sipping it.

…

Almost twenty minutes later, Masaya distinctly heard the guest bathroom door opening, followed by some steps. He remained quiet, waiting to hear the reaction Ayaka would have, and wasn't surprised to hear her call his name out, quite loudly as a matter of fact.

"Masaya-kun!"

Shaking his head, he approached the door and called out, "Yes?"

"Get in here!"

With a shrug, Masaya turned the knob and entered, immediately being greeted by a marvellous sight: Kitamikado Ayaka, hair wet and bedraggled, wearing only a fluffy red towel around her torso that left her large cleavage and long legs plainly visible. Unsurprisingly, she had a rather annoyed look on her face and had a pair of violet panties hanging from her finger.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked in a no-nonsense tone.

Masaya smirked disarmingly, making her features soften slightly. "Quite simple. I figured that, what with all the action of yesterday, it would be a little unhygienic to wear the same pair of knickers from yesterday."

"That I can understand, and I appreciate the gesture," Ayaka nodded, "But I'm more curious as to _where_ and _how_ you got them."

"Ah, well, I got them from that drawer," Masaya drawled, pointing at the place where the panties were stored. "As to how…" Here, Masaya regaled to Ayaka the story of the only female co-worker of his to stay over, like he had told Rise. "And since she stays so often, she's bought a lot of knickers. Since she seems to always have money to buy more, I figured I may as well gift you with one, due to the situation."

Ayaka seemed sufficiently mollified by the explanation, and at that point, she realised in what position she had been caught.

"M-Masaya-kun," Ayaka said meekly, "Please get out."

"Roger," Masaya nodded, turning and walking to the door. As he opened it once again, he stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. "By the way… you've got some beautiful legs."

And with that, leaving behind a blushing and stuttering Ayaka, he exited the room.

…

It took a few more minutes for Ayaka to come out, but she was fully dressed by that point. She blushed brightly when she saw Masaya, remembering his comment about her legs. Masaya showed her to the table, where he had set up and covered the breakfast he'd made so that it stayed warm. Ayaka happily dug in, with Masaya simply sitting to the side and drinking his coffee.

"Mmm, this tastes really good, Masaya-kun," Ayaka praised him as she swallowed some scrambled eggs. "Since when could you cook like this? I've never seen you cooking."

"For a while now," Masaya responded. "I chose to use cooking as an exercise to better get used to my arms and legs. Wasn't easy, I'll tell you that."

"I see," was all Ayaka said before continuing to eat. She noticed, however, that Masaya wasn't eating a single bite. He was just drinking coffee. "Masaya-kun, aren't you going to eat?"

"Not hungry," was all Masaya said, but Ayaka could tell that was just an excuse. He seemed pensive, as if he had a lot in his mind. She decided to leave him to it.

Once she was done with the breakfast, she sighed happily and leaned back. "Now that was one great morning."

"I'd say," Masaya chuckled.

Suddenly, though, Ayaka shrieked and began to dig through her pockets, looking for her phone. Masaya watched silently as she dug it out of her right pocket, flipped it open, and rapidly dialled a number, bringing the phone to her ear a moment later.

"Hello? Ritsuko, it's me, Ayaka! I wanted to tell you that I'm okay and- wait, what? Oh, he did?" Masaya kept his face blank when Ayaka looked at him with a slightly accusatory look. "So he did, huh? Alright, then. Yes, I know. I feel fine. I'll see you later and explain it then." With a sigh, she closed the phone, then looked at Masaya. "Why didn't you tell me you'd already called Ritsuko?"

"Because I figured it was best if I let you call her," Masaya shrugged. "Even with as many assurances as I can give her, she'd still be worried if she didn't hear from you first-hand."

Ayaka nodded and flopped on the seat. "I'm so full…"

Masaya chuckled and finally finished off his admittedly large cup of coffee. He cleaned up the table, placed everything in the washer, then came back to see Ayaka still slumped on the seat.

"Hey, come on, enough dilly-dallying. Let's get going," Masaya urged her, checking his watch.

Ayaka nodded and stood, going to the guest room quickly to get a bag. Masaya had no doubts as to what that bag contained.

"Huh, déjà vu," Masaya muttered as he opened the door.

…

Thankfully, they were able to get into a bus that would leave them in front of the school in time.

Unfortunately, a familiar and unwelcome face greeted them when they arrived at the front of the school.

Masaya and Ayaka were just exiting the bus when they realised someone had stepped out before them, and said person was standing just a few feet away, facing them coldly.

It was none other than the headmistress and mother of the Kitamikado sisters, one of which was next to him, Kitamikado Misako.

"Well, Ayaka-san, this was a surprise," Misako began coldly. "Imagine my wonder when I looked to the back of that bus and saw not only you, but Okonogi Masaya-kun sitting at the back."

"Ah, Mother," Ayaka said, a little shakily. By the way she was acting, Masaya could tell that she had reverted to using the clown mask he now knew was just an act. "Salutations."

Misako checked her watch, then looked back at her with slightly more coldness. "It is not yet eight o'clock, Ayaka-san. Do you know what this means?"

"That we're not yet late for class?" Ayaka said with a smile.

Misako closed her eyes, as if trying to hold back a sigh of annoyance.

"A young man and woman, arriving back home together at such an early time," the headmistress said. "That can only mean… you two were doing something unseemly last night, weren't you?"

Both teenagers reeled back at the accusation, Ayaka more so than Masaya. The augmented young man remembered that Ayaka had spoken quite passionately to him about how her birth mother had been a 'floozy', and how she feared that she would turn out like her, which explained why she was so shy about the contact she and Masaya shared last night and this morning. Of course, Masaya thought it was total tripe, but Ayaka wasn't easily convinced.

And to him, this conversation was heading down that very path.

"Mother, please. Masaya-kun and I simply crossed paths in town and-," Ayaka tried to explain.

"We weren't doing anything 'unseemly', as you so eloquently put it, Madame Headmistress," Masaya cut her off calmly.

"Lying as usual, are you?" the headmistress responded coldly.

"With all due respect, Madame Headmistress, I _do not_ lie," Masaya growled, actually making the woman take a step back.

"Masaya-kun, please," Ayaka tried to plead to him, grabbing his arm.

"It is true that we spent last night together. I will not try to deceive you," Masaya continued, not heeding Ayaka for the moment.

"I thought so-,"

"But if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then for Pete's sake, get your mind out of the gutter," Masaya steamrolled, startling the woman. "If you really think that any action taken by a young man and woman after dark is immediately 'unseemly'," Masaya continued to put a sarcastic tone to that word, "then you are far more sheltered and are lacking more knowledge about human psychology than I first thought, and my first thoughts were much better, I assure you."

Both females gaped at Masaya, though for different reasons. Ayaka was both slightly surprised that Masaya would outright tell her adoptive mother that they had spent the night together, and shocked and slightly emboldened by his words.

The headmistress's next words, however, stopped any further positive thought.

"Hmph… and why shouldn't I think so?" the headmistress spoke, almost sounding triumphant. "After all, Ayaka-san has the blood of a loose woman running through her veins. It's to be expected."

Both teenagers froze at those words, one in shock, and the other in pure anger.

Masaya was seeing red at that comment, and was about to give the headmistress a serious talking to, title be damned, when a softer, shaky voice stopped him.

"Don't you… dare…" Ayaka whispered, small tears leaking from her eyes. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, she yelled out. "Don't you dare bring my mother into this!"

Both Masaya and Misako stared at the young woman in shock. For Masaya, it was the first time he had seen Ayaka seriously angry.

"My Mom has nothing to do with any of this!" Ayaka repeated.

"Of course she does!" It seemed Misako had gotten her second wind. "She had the blood of a floozy, and the same blood runs through your veins-,"

"Don't make me laugh!" Ayaka yelled scornfully. "You stole away a man that had a wife and child! If my Mom and I are floozies, then you're nothing but a homewrecker!"

That, it seemed, was the last straw for the headmistress, as she growled menacingly and stepped forward quickly, pulling back her hand. Ayaka was slow to react, and she could only watch as the hand descended upon her. She braced herself for the slap…

But it never came.

Masaya, seeing the action, had immediately jumped in front of Ayaka, and with dexterity that came from experience, had caught the headmistress's wrist and stopped her slap before it came even close to the young woman.

The headmistress stared in shock up into Masaya's lenses, since he was taller than her, and even with those in the way, she could feel the heat coming from his eyes.

"Okonogi Masaya-kun, release my hand," Misako said in a low voice, which had a dangerous undertone.

Masaya, however, was not cowed.

"So long as you take three steps back and lower your hand, Kitamikado Misako-san," Masaya said right back, startling the woman with the use of her name.

"How dare you?" Misako growled.

"We are not in Vincennes, only in front, so your intimidation tactics, will not work, Misako-san," Masaya said calmly.

"Who do you think you are to interfere in matters of family?" she asking derisively.

"Me? I'm Okonogi Masaya," the young man responded mockingly before becoming serious. "I have been trained to spot and prevent fights, Misako-san, both physical and verbal, so this should be no surprise. Additionally, I am Ayaka's friend and ally. As I said once before, though you were not there for it, I will protect my friends with all I have."

With those words, Masaya pushed the headmistress away, noticing that a small group of Gardiane officers were approaching the group. The group came to a startling sight: Kitamikado Ayaka was staring at the back of Okonogi Masaya, who was standing like a statue in front of her, glaring down at Kitamikado Misako, the headmistress and their employer, who was staring right back at him.

The stare down remained only for a few more seconds before the headmistress broke it and turned away, walking into the school without another word. The atmosphere remained tense until she was out of sight, whereupon everyone relaxed, even the Gardiane.

Masaya made sure that the Gardiane weren't about to take them to a teacher for punishment, then turned to his friend. "Are you alright, Ayaka-san?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine," Ayaka said, but Masaya knew better. She was still crying lightly, and her shoulders were shaking.

"Hey, come on," Masaya tried to mollify her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Don't ever let what she says get to you. I haven't known her for long, but even I can tell she's not exactly a good word fighter."

Ayaka looked at Masaya with a raised eyebrow due to the last two words he'd said, but shrugged it off and nodded. "Thank you, Masaya-kun, for protecting me."

"It was my pleasure," Masaya smiled, wiping away her tears. "Now come on, let's go inside. Your sister must still be going mad with worry, despite both of us calling her."

Ayaka laughed as they passed the gates. "Yeah, she probably is!"

…

…

…

Later that day, around noon, the White Lily Society met in Maria Hall, as was the usual. This time, however, Rise, Chiho, and Ruriko could tell that Masaya was oddly quiet, and seemed more distracted than usual.

"Masaya, are you okay?" Chiho decided to bite the bullet and ask.

"Hmm… I'm sorry, what?" Masaya started and looked at Chiho.

"You're really distracted today. What's the matter?"

Masaya could see that the other two girls were also curious as to his reaction and his general air.

"Oh… I'm alright, don't worry," Masaya assured them. "Just got a lot on my mind."

"Is it something very personal?" Ruriko asked.

"You could say that…"

The girls noticed that a shadow had crossed Masaya's face as he said this, signalling that what he was thinking about was something that wasn't good. Wisely, they decided to leave it at that and give him time to open up on his own.

Just then, however, there was a knock on the door.

"Oh? Come in," Rise called out.

The door opened, and in walked none other than Kitamikado Ayaka.

"Salutations," she called out to the room happily.

"Oh, Ayaka-sama," Rise said in surprise. The rest of the room simply stared.

"Rise, you're the leader of the White Lily Society, right?" Ayaka asked.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I am."

"Great! Then, would you let me join you as an affiliate?"

That question sent almost the entire room reeling in surprise, minus one young man who could see just where this was going and didn't particularly like it.

" **Ah?** " The three girls cried out in simultaneous surprise.

"Ayaka-sama, you?" Rise asked, and it seemed like this was definitely an odd move for her, judging by the extreme reaction.

"Oh, no, don't get the wrong idea. I don't really care much about the association events and stuff like that…" Ayaka made sure to explain, then turned to Masaya, winked at him, and giggled. "But I am _very_ interested in Masaya-kun here."

The girls in the room froze at that.

"You don't mind if that's my motivation, right? I really want to see him stay here!"

"Huh? Oh, no, not at all…" Rise said, her tone unconvinced.

"Great! Then I hope to get along with all of you and I promise to work hard for everyone! To celebrate, I brought some cakes and drinks with me. Let's go party!"

Ayaka began to walk out of the room happily, but Rise stopped her.

"Um… Ayaka-sama…?"

"Yes?" Ayaka asked innocently.

"When you say that you're interested in Masaya-san," Rise began, "what do you mean, exactly?"

"Oh, well…" Ayaka trailed off, then winked at Masaya again. "It's exactly what you're thinking, Rise."

And with that, she exited the room, leaving behind three shocked girls, one face-palming man, and one happy stoat (because of the promise of sweets).

"Why didn't I see this coming?" Masaya muttered, standing up. "Well, let's get going, I suppose."

However, even when he started to walk around the table to the door, the girls refused to move.

"Hey, what's up?" Masaya asked the three of them.

None of them answered, choosing to simply stare at him shrewdly. Then, Chiho broke the silence.

"Yesterday, Ayaka-sama asked me out of nowhere what you liked to eat. Was that because…"

She trailed off.

"She did?" Masaya asked aloud, placing a hand on his chin. "Hmm… that explains why she was at Lavage de Coeur then…"

"Something you'd like to share, Masaya-san?" Rise asked stoically.

Masaya raised an eyebrow, looking at the faces of the three girls. Then, it clicked in his brain, and he chuckled, surprising the girls. "You cannot be serious."

"What are you talking about?" Chiho asked.

"Oh, nothing," Masaya said offhandedly, turning and opening the door. "Come on, let's go."

However, before he could take a step outside, someone grabbed the back of his jacket and tried to pull him back inside.

 _Tried_.

Masaya looked back in annoyance to find _Ruriko_ holding onto his jacket with Rise and Chiho just behind her and looking like they were going to do the same.

"What are you doing?" Masaya asked in deadpan.

"When did you get so chummy with Ayaka-sama?" Rise was the one to ask, annoyance clear in her tone.

"What do you mean? We were never particularly distant," Masaya responded, though that seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as the girls simply seemed to get madder.

"Don't lie! You two never talked before the May Festival!" Chiho said.

"And you know that… how?" Masaya asked her, which stumped her and the other two. Truthfully, though, he was bluffing. They really hadn't.

When the girls couldn't come up with an answer, Masaya continued. "Exactly. Excluding that, though, does it really matter if Ayaka-san and I are friends?"

"Friends, no," Ruriko was the one who answered. "But Ayaka-sama clearly expressed larger desires than simply friends."

"Ah, well, that I can't deny," Masaya shrugged. "So, she likes me. What's your point?"

"Is that really all you have to say?" Chiho asked, outrage in her tone.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not a damn Casanova. I'm not going to give a spiel about how I'm so thankful a beautiful, older girl has taken the time to be interested in me," Masaya responded with annoyance.

That seemed to be enough to make them back off, thought they now looked at him with curiosity.

"Masaya-san, you're not an easily embarrassed individual, are you?" Rise asked him.

"Not particularly," Masaya responded. "You may be ignoring this, but in my line of work… there's not always a chance to return home in one piece… or alive, for that matter." That made the girls draw back, slight surprise in their faces, though not from what he said but how he said it. "At first, I didn't have time for romance of any kind. But even when I did… my physical looks made it extremely difficult to have any woman be attracted to me, much less love me. So I decided to let romance and things like that take a backseat in my life. I hadn't given it up… but I wasn't going to go out of my way to tempt failure. Instead, I focused on my work."

"But… Masaya, you didn't find even one girl that liked you for you?" Chiho asked sadly.

"Only one," Masaya said, a wistful smile on his lips. "My co-worker, Barbara Jackson. She's part of the security firm that I work for, though she is simply a pilot that usually took me to my mission coordinates. She's a tanned, blonde bombshell of an American woman who worked at Sarif Industries for a while now, and a year ago, she got transferred here along with her brother Jason, who is the man that usually provides me with mission details and stuff like that. At first, we didn't get along, as she claimed I was just, and I quote, 'an emo boy that wouldn't know where to find the vagina on a woman if his life depended on it'." The phrasing of that made the three girls in front of him blush hotly. "Honestly, she was right. I had practically shut down my emotions when I first started so that I wasn't distracted from my objectives, but I couldn't shut them away completely, and Barbara… she just knew how to get under my skin. We used to get into a lot of arguments, but slowly, we warmed up to each other. She managed to pull me out of the emotional hole I was in, and for that, I will be eternally grateful to her."

"Masaya-san, were you and Barbara-san…?" Ruriko began to ask, but trailed off.

"Were we ever together?" Masaya finished, and she nodded. "Not like how you're thinking. Barbara is a great woman, don't get me wrong, but she and I had the same mentality when it came to my job. Because of that, we never got into a serious relationship, but I will admit that we shared each other's beds several times, sometimes for carnal reason, and other times simply to be together and cuddle, you could say, which I will admit is one of the things that kept me most sane throughout my career."

The girls looked at him, indecisive about what to think. Masaya had been through a lot in the short time he had disappeared from Tsurugigaoka, and the more they learned about his life, the more they came to realise that this young man was dealt a terrible card in life. But perhaps… now, he could create a better life… with them.

Then, suddenly, Ayaka popped her head back through the door, confusion clear on her face. "Hey, what are you all doing? Come on!"

That broke the serious mood, and when Masaya chuckled at Ayaka's words, the rest of the girls giggled along, each one mentally thanking Barbara for bringing Masaya out of the depression he had been in.

…

…

…


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Rise, Chiho, and Masaya were called to the headmistress's office after classes. Despite that, though, Ruriko followed them, a concerned frown on her face.

"What do you think she needs us for?" Chiho asked.

Rise and Masaya shook their heads, not having any clue as to what they may have done, but Ruriko didn't answer.

Once they arrived, they were surprised to notice that it wasn't just the headmistress in the office, but also some of the members of the board, including Rise's grandmother.

"Ruriko? I did not ask for you. Please step outside," the headmistress said when she saw the extra.

"If you will, Madame Headmistress, I believe I know why this meeting is happening-," Ruriko began, but she was cut off.

"That is neither here nor there. I only asked for these three. Please wait outside."

Ruriko looked torn, but in the end, she reluctantly obeyed. Once she was gone, the headmistress paced in front of the trio, studying them with narrowed eyes.

"Just this morning," the headmistress suddenly began, "Ruriko's father came to the school to talk to me. Can any of you guess the reason?"

The trio looked at each other. Why would she be asking this to them and not to Ruriko, who she had just sent out?

"No clue," Masaya responded.

The girls shook their heads simultaneously.

"Really? No idea?" The headmistress asked, almost mockingly. "Well, when he arrived, he began to ask me if anything... big had happened in the school lately. He said that he had placed his daughter under an arranged marriage, to which she had no objections at first... But suddenly, just last week, she had asked him to break the contract. Can you guess why?"

The trio's eyes widened. Now they understood.

"Since it definitely wasn't something from home that changed her mind, it had to be something from inside the school. Thus... He has stated that unless whatever caused the change in Ruriko's mind is fixed... He will withdraw his support and his daughter from the school."

"He what?!" Chiho, being the most vocal of the trio, was the one to yell out in surprise.

The headmistress, however, paid her no mind. Instead, she turned to Masaya, who was simply looking between the headmistress and the board, his shades making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"Therefore, Okonogi Masaya-kun, you are here to be expelled from the school."

Silence ruled the office.

"What?!" This time, both Rise and Chiho cried out in shock.

"Why are you expelling him?!" Rise asked in bewilderment.

"Is it not obvious? He must be the culprit, as his presence here is the only change the school has gone through," the headmistress summarized as if it were obvious.

Masaya had still not said anything, oddly enough. The only motion he had done was cross his arms.

"If that is the case, then you should expel both Chiho-san and myself," Rise declared, much to the shock of the entire room, though Chiho proudly stood with her. "We were also involved in the matter, as Ruriko-san can attest to."

"Were you, now?" the headmistress said, her tone of voice sort of delighted. "I should have known that you would have inserted ideas into her head."

"You say that as though they were bad ideas!" Chiho exclaimed in outrage. "Ruriko-san didn't love that man! If she doesn't want to get married to him, she shouldn't be forced to!"

"Be quiet," the headmistress commanded her, but Chiho wasn't about to listen.

"No! Ruriko-san is our friend, and we have an obligation to help her!"

"Bijou Bleu? Friends with a Final Course Tourist? Don't make me laugh," the headmistress scoffed derisively. "Additionally, what gives you the right to interfere in family matters? Just keep your nose out of where it doesn't belong."

A strangled noise of anger escaped Chiho's mouth, and though nobody noticed it, Masaya's grip on his arms tightened.

"Now, Okonogi Masaya," Misako said, looking at the still unresponsive young man, "You have twenty four hours to pack your things. Be ready to leave, understood? If you are not off the premises by that time, you shall be forcefully ejected."

Masaya said nothing, which ticked off the headmistress this time.

"What is wrong with you? Do you not care?" the headmistress asked him, and this time, everyone could see that she was trying to get a reaction out of him.

The only reaction she got however, was not one that she expected.

Masaya chuckled.

Everyone stared at the young man as he started to chuckle, then suddenly laughed out loud, startling everyone. The headmistress stared at him in shock, wondering what was going on.

"Oh… that's just rich…" Masaya muttered as his laughter died down. Then, he suddenly withdrew his shades and fixed a steely glare at the headmistress, making her take a step back in fear. "You say that as if you could forcefully eject anything or anyone, you foolish woman."

Everyone's eyes widened at the angry tone Masaya's voice had suddenly acquired. This persona of Masaya's was a left curve, and it left everyone speechless.

"You truly know how to push my buttons, Madame Headmistress, and this time, you've really gone all out. You asked if I had anything to say. Well, as a matter of fact, since you're working on kicking me out, I do." Masaya raised a finger, his dark red eyes flashing. "Firstly, do not make threats you can't keep. Otherwise, you will find yourself in a load of trouble in the future." Masaya raised a second finger. "Secondly, you were mistaken when you claimed that we have no right to interfere in family matters, as none of us did. As Ruriko-san can attest to, she _asked_ us for advice, and each of us told her our honest opinions about the situation. She _chose_ , on her own volition as a human being, to reject the marriage when she realized the importance of marriage and how having a choice in a partner makes all the difference in the world as to how your future plays out. And thirdly, and most importantly…" As his eyes narrowed to slits, Masaya raised a third finger. "You are nowhere near qualified to be even a teacher, much less a headmistress." That made her reel back in shock. "You openly belittle students, like you did not a moment ago to Chiho, who did not deserve it. You refuse to listen to any kind of reason that isn't your own or that works towards your own misguided goals, which leads to the first point and the next one. And finally, when someone proves you wrong, you simply drop the conversation and walk away, strutting like a pigeon that thinks it won a game of chess. All you are… is a coward. A coward that can't take it when she is proven wrong, like a child. How you got to your position, I don't know, but at this point, I'm almost afraid to ask. I would suggest that you take a good look at yourself and grow up, but I know that you'll simply ignore it like the coward that you are."

With those words, Masaya turned around and began to walk to the door, his long jacket flapping softly. As he had just reached the door, the shocked silence was broken by the nasal voice of one of the board members.

"Where do you think you're going, you ungrateful little boy? Get back here and show the headmistress the respect she deserves."

The skinny, nasally-voiced man immediately cowered when Masaya turned his head and pinned him with his glare, which had become quite powerful due to the experiences he had gone through.

"Don't try to talk to me about respect," Masaya growled, turning the knob. "Some of you in here, the headmistress especially, wouldn't know a thing about respect if it slapped you in the face. Respect is something that is earned, and though I tried to have some for the headmistress when I first arrived, that amount quickly withered away due to her actions. Now, I'd like to cool off, so I will excuse myself. Rise-san, Chiho, you know where I'll be."

With those words, and leaving behind a shocked room, Masaya opened the door to find himself in front of Ruriko, who was standing at the threshold with an open mouth. Whether it was because of her father's actions and the results of it, or because of Masaya's words, no one could say.

"Ruriko-san," Masaya said calmly. "I assume you heard what happened in here?"

Ruriko nodded slowly.

"Then you know of what's happening in a short while. If you'll excuse me, I need to go pack."

As Masaya made to walk around her, Ruriko grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Masaya-san," Ruriko said desperately. "Are you really going to accept this? Just like that?"

"And what else do you expect me to do?" Masaya asked rhetorically. "You know that in the school, her title outranks mine, as little as I care for that. Additionally, we're still under the required majority for me to stay, so a vote just won't help, especially in such a short time as twenty four hours. In this case, there's not much to do, though you're welcome to try. I'd appreciate it, honestly, but I've already said my piece. Even without me here, I'm sure you four could still take the school to the place it's supposed to be: the top of the schooling charts."

"But… you're the main player in this, Masaya!" Chiho cried out. "Without you, how are we supposed to do this?"

Masaya stopped, lightly smiling. "I know you'll find a way, girls. Because…" He turned halfway and smiled at them. "You gave me something I desperately needed without asking anything in return, and you did it so effortlessly. With Rise's drive and leadership, and the help of not only you, Chiho, but also Ruriko-san and Ayaka-san, you _will_ succeed. I will always believe in you, no matter where I'll be."

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving an office full of mixed emotions.

…

Sometime later, Masaya was sitting on his bed, checking his clothes and making sure he wasn't leaving anything behind, when there was a knock at the door.

"Coming," Masaya called out, standing and stretching. He walked over to the door and opened it carelessly, and because of that, he was startled when he was blindsided by a person crashing into him and wrapping her arms around his torso. "What the-?!"

"Masaya-kun, say it's not true! Please!" Ayaka, the one who had tackled him, cried out into his bare chest. "You're not leaving, right?!"

Masaya's facial expression softened, and he gently grabbed Ayaka's arms and pried them from around him. "Unfortunately, Ayaka-san, I am. By the _wisdom_ of the board of education, plus the monetary pull of Mr. Kamiyagi, I'm being dismissed from Vincennes to bring balance back to the school, or something along those lines."

"That's insane!" she exclaimed, tears falling from her eyes. "None of this is your fault!"

"And we know that, but someone apparently has to be the scapegoat. This time, it was me," Masaya sighed, looking up at the rest of the crowd that had entered the room. "Hey, everyone. I assume you're here to see me off?"

"Don't talk like that, Masaya!" Chiho exclaimed. "We _will_ find a way to overturn this, I promise!"

Masaya smiled at her. "Thank you, Chiho." He turned and looked at the three Red Rose girls that had come along with the White Lily members. "So I assume Rise-san filled you ladies in as well?"

"Yes," Ritsuko was the one to confirm it. "This… is a grievous abuse, Masaya-sama, and I, personally, will not stand for it."

"I stand with Onee-sama!" Konomi exclaimed. "You being kicked out like this… It's not right, Masaya-sama!"

Mitsuki said nothing, leading Masaya to believe she had been dragged along, or something along those lines.

"I have already talked to my father, but he refuses to see reason," Ruriko said sadly. "I do not know what to do…"

"At this point…" Masaya sighed, still holding onto Ayaka. "All we can do is hope, I suppose."

…

The girls had taken it upon themselves to inform the entire school of what was going on, leaving out no detail, including Masaya's words to the headmistress. It was an event that shocked the entire school, but by the time everyone knew, the time had come for Masaya to leave.

Masaya sighed and picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. After looking back at his room one last time, Masaya opened the door and stepped outside, immediately being met by what seemed to be a crowd of girls that were lined at either side of the hallway. Looking around in bewilderment, Masaya took the scene in. The girls all around him seemed to be Final Course second years, the ones he had interacted with the most. They were all looking at him, and while there were some that were looking at him derisively, many were looking at him with sympathy, as if understanding that this was all wrong.

Masaya smiled warmly at the girls all around him, wordlessly thanking them for being there. He began to walk down the hall, the girls stepping away from the walls and following behind him like a train. Soon, he had walked out of the Final Course dorm, surrounded by his friends and acquaintances of the school, who were sombrely walking with him as if it were a funeral march.

Eventually, he reached the sakura tree path, which looked beautiful in the moonlight, as Rise had told him when he first arrived here. Here, his closest friends were each leaning on a tree, waiting for him, no doubt.

"Hey, everyone," Masaya called out as he approached.

The girls immediately perked up and approached him when they noticed him coming.

"Masaya/-san/-sama!" the girls called out in tandem

The first to approach was Rise, who immediately grabbed him in a hug. "I'm so sorry, Masaya-san! We couldn't find a way to overturn it…"

Masaya smiled calmly and dropped his bag to hug her back. "It's alright, Rise. I know you tried your hardest, but now, you need to put that energy into reform, even without me around. I'm sure you can do it."

Rise sniffed lightly, but nodded. "I will, Masaya-san."

They broke apart, but before Masaya could say anything else, the headmistress showed up, with a group of Gardiane officers behind her.

"Very well, the time has come. Okonogi Masaya, it is time for you to leave," the headmistress said, anger in her tone.

"No!" Six different girls jumped in front of Masaya, trying to create a wall so that he couldn't leave.

"What is this? Out of the way, all of you," Misako said angrily, focusing on one person after a few moments. "Ritsuko, how dare you? Are you supporting Okonogi Masaya now?"

"In this case, I am, Mother," Ritsuko responded just as angrily. "This is utter nonsense!"

"Out of the way, now!" The headmistress yelled out.

The confrontation seemed to come to a head, but before anything else could happen, a distraction came from the open gates. Three people could be seen approaching the large group, Masaya being the first to notice them and call attention to them.

"We have company," he said, his voice having a guarded edge. Everyone was able to hear him due to the strong tone he used, and together, they watched as the three new arrivals came to focus.

"Mother? Father?" Ruriko suddenly said in a confused tone.

"Wait, that's them?" Chiho said, perplexed. "Then, who's…?"

It was Mr. and Mrs. Kamiyagi, along with a third person, a man just slightly older than Masaya, who had dark green hair of the same shade as Konomi's, and was wearing a cloak for some reason.

"Ah, Mr. Kamiyagi," the headmistress said in a reverent tone. "I apologize, but you are not allowed on the premises alone."

"I understand, Misako-san," Mr. Kamiyagi said in a calm tone. "Eitaro-kun here simply insisted on checking something first. I assume you have taken care of what I asked?"

"Yes. As of now, Okonogi Masaya-shi is no longer associated with Vincennes. In fact, he was just about to leave."

"I see. That was quite quick…"

"Mother, Father…" Ruriko's voice cut through the air like steel, startling everyone around her. "Why are you here? And why have you brought _him_?"

Ruriko's parents stared at their daughter, while the young man next to them glared at Masaya instead.

"Your fiancé wished to see who it was that tried to steer you away from him, Ruriko," her mother said.

"Mother, I have told you before. I will not be married to him," Ruriko responded, her voice calm but carrying a definitely angry edge that no one had seen in her before.

"Ruriko, please, see reason," Mr. Kamiyagi said. "This is for your own good."

"No, it isn't. Do not try to fool me, Father," Ruriko responded coldly. "You tried to prevent me from finding love on my own, and when that failed, you try to do away with the one man that _has_ captured my feelings? What part of that is for my own good?"

"You just don't understand," her father tried to say, but she cut him off.

"I understand enough, Father. I understand that you care more for the future of your business than for your own daughter's feelings."

"Ruriko!" Mrs. Kamiyagi exclaimed. "You know your father loves you!"

"He has a truly delightful way of showing it," Ruriko responded, shocking her mother into silence.

Everyone had yet to notice that two of the group had remained completely silent, choosing to simply stare at each other in a clash of wills. Ayaka was the first to notice when she looked at Masaya out of the corner of her eye.

"Masaya-kun?" she asked, confused as to his stiff pose.

Masaya didn't respond, simply continuing his standoff with Ruriko's ex-fiancé.

"Well? Are you satisfied?" Mr. Kamiyagi decided to end the argument there and turned to the young man at his side, gesturing towards Masaya.

"Satisfied…?" The young man's voice was so soft that no one could really hear it, but then he repeated the word in a tone that everyone definitely heard. "Satisfied?! How can I possibly be satisfied?! Ruriko, how dare you?! How dare you throw me away for this trash?!"

Everyone reeled back in shock at his accusations, not understanding where this sudden anger had come from. Thus, everyone was slow to react when the man suddenly began to stalk towards Ruriko, pure hate in his eyes.

"How dare you?! HOW DARE YOU?!"

His voice simply kept getting higher and higher in tone, and he pulled back his arm.

"Eek!" Ruriko cried out in fear as he approached and pulled back.

The punch was thrown… and landed, not against a soft cheek, but against a metal hand.

"What the-?!" Eitaro yelled out in surprise when he found his fist in Masaya's tight grip. "You!"

Masaya was simply glaring at him, having reflexively stood in front of Ruriko.

"Get out of my way!" Eitaro yelled, pulling his arm back and out of Masaya's grip. Masaya allowed him to take a step back, continuing to glare at him.

"Eitaro-kun, what are you doing?" Mr. Kamiyagi tried to stop him, putting a hand on his shoulder, but Eitaro simply turned and punched him on his cheek, sending the man flying back. "Ugh!"

"Father!" Ruriko cried out.

"Enough of this! Ruriko, you are mine!" Eitaro yelled, walking forward threateningly.

Masaya, however, refused to budge.

"Will you just piss off already?!" Eitaro yelled, moving the arm he left underneath his cloak a little. Masaya continued to glare at him, a silent declaration that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Fine!" Eitaro suddenly exclaimed, his cloak flying open.

A powerful sound shattered the night air.

A gunshot.

The girls all jumped when they heard the sound, and they wondered who it was that had been struck. When they looked around and noticed none of the girls falling over, they looked back ahead… to see Eitaro, a pistol in his hand aimed directly at Masaya, who had jolted and taken a step back.

"MASAYA/-SAN/-SAMA!" The unified, horrified cry shattered what was left of the silent night sky as the girls understood what had happened.

Ruriko, being the closest, ran to him and placed a hand on his arm, fear clear in her eyes and voice. "Masaya-san?! Are you alright?! Please, say something!"

Masaya slowly straightened up, pain in his voice as he responded. "I'll be fine… eventually. I couldn't dodge it, otherwise any of you could have been hurt. Now, Ruriko-san, step back. I can't have him harming any of you."

Ruriko reluctantly nodded and moved back, telling the rest of the girls about the situation.

Masaya, meanwhile, stepped forward, towards a terrified Eitaro.

"How dare you?" Masaya asked the man. "If I hadn't taken that shot, any of these innocent girls would have either been severely injured or died."

"I-I don't care!" Eitaro exclaimed. "All I want is Ruriko! She is mine! And you tried to take her away from me!"

Masaya stopped and raised an eyebrow. "You do know that Ruriko is _not_ an object? She can make her own choices without your input. And if she says she doesn't want to be with you, what right do you have to force her?"

Eitaro didn't answer, simply choosing to glare at Masaya.

"I mean, honestly. You talk as if you own her. You do know that slavery is outlawed, right?"

"She was promised to me!"

"With her consent," Masaya stressed. "A consent that she had every right to withdraw if she wished."

"No! She was mine! She _is_ mine! And you won't stop me!"

"Won't I, now?" Masaya asked rhetorically before, to the shock of everyone, _disappearing_ into thin air.

Eitaro stared with an open mouth at the spot where Masaya had been, his mind unable to comprehend what had happened, when he was blindsided by a blow from behind him. With a yell of pain, he fell to the ground as Masaya appeared behind him.

"You truly are a despicable human being, Eitaro," Masaya said as he approached the downed man. "Now, will you leave quietly, or am I going to have to restrain you?"

Eitaro suddenly sat up and aimed the handgun at Masaya, but his shot went into the sky when Masaya slid out his blade and _deflected_ the shot upwards, his ocular augmentations having slowed the motion enough for him to guess the trajectory of the bullet and safely deflect it.

"Y-Y-You… What are you…?!" Eitaro exclaimed fearfully, his hand shaking.

"I am Okonogi Masaya, and that's all you need to know," Masaya responded calmly.

Just as he was about to knock the man out, however, Masaya and the entire crowd was startled when Eitaro's body suddenly stiffened. His shoulders straightened, his jaw clenched, and his eyes became wide and unfocused. Masaya tensed, waiting for what would happen, when Eitaro's mouth opened… and out came a voice no one was expecting.

"Well, well, well," a deep, oily voice left Eitaro's mouth, despite the fact that his mouth wasn't moving. "Okonogi Masaya… so the rumours were true."

Masaya stared in confusion at the spectacle in front of him, wondering what the hell was going on, when it all clicked in his brain as he realized he had heard this voice before, though back then, it had only said three words.

 _"_ _Light it up."_

"Hashimoto Gorou…" Masaya growled out hatefully, startling everyone with his words.

"Oho, so you know my name!" the voice said with delight. "Tell me, how did you find out about me?"

"I have no reason to give out that information to you," Masaya responded shortly.

"Oh well, it was worth a try," Gorou sighed. "No matter. You do know you still owe us that money, Masaya."

"I owe you nothing, and you damn well know it," Masaya responded. "But be sure that, when I find you, you're going to pay for what you did to my mother."

"Oh? Is that so?" Gorou asked back playfully. "What, not going to say anything about dear daddy?"

"What is there to say? Even I have to admit that he had it coming. But mom… no, she was an innocent in all of this… and you killed her. You can bet that I won't let you escape punishment for her death!"

"Oh? Well, then, Masaya… Come get me," Gorou replied mockingly. "And when you do, make sure to bring the money you owe me."

"The only thing I'm going to be bringing anywhere is your head back to HQ!" Masaya yelled.

"Well, it won't be Eitaro-kun's head, that's for sure," Gorou muttered before static came from Eitaro's mouth. The young man had yet to say a word, but now, his hand began to move, putting the pistol in it against his chin.

Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what was about to happen.

"No!" Masaya exclaimed, but it was too late.

 **BANG!**

Masaya recoiled as the bullet tore through Eitaro's head, sending blood flying upwards. The girls screamed in horror as they saw this. Gritting his teeth, Masaya stepped in front of the falling corpse to try and block the gory scene while also making a call.

 _"_ _Masaya? What's up?"_ Jason responded on the other side.

"Jason, I've got a situation here. I need a CAS-EVAC for a corpse."

 _"_ _What? What did you get yourself into now, Masaya?"_

"See for yourself," Masaya responded, looking towards the scene and letting Jason witness the scene through his eyes.

 _"…_ _Yikes… What the hell happened?"_

"Crazy, spoiled young man that was apparently augmented with a neural hub. He was being controlled by an outside source, and you won't believe who it was…"

 _"_ _Units are on their way. Do tell, though."_

"Hashimoto Gorou…"

 _"_ _You mean the same guy who…?!"_

"Yep, the very same one. Oh, and do tell the units to make it quiet. I don't want any of this to get back to the media."

 _"_ _Masaya, you're dealing with the self-killed corpse of the son of a somewhat known company. There's no way this can be completely covered up."_

"Just try to keep it quiet for now!"

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah, I got it."_

"Thanks, Jason."

Masaya sighed as the connection went dead, standing and staring at the cooling corpse. Eitaro's head had a hole near the middle where the bullet had exited, but by this point, dead bodies were something that he had almost grown accustomed to, so it had next to no effect on him.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, trying to keep away the small headache that had begun to sprout in his brain. It certainly lessened, but by no means disappeared. Masaya was startled when a hand landed on his shoulder, and he turned quickly, only to be met by Mr. Kamiyagi.

"Uh… Mr. Kamiyagi, sir, I don't think it's the best idea for you to be here," Masaya said respectfully.

"It's fine, son. I've seen many things in my life, but this was one of the craziest," the man said, staring at the corpse of Eitaro. "This young man…"

Mr. Kamiyagi and Masaya stared at the corpse together.

"In the end, the spoiled brat was nothing but a puppet for a much larger problem," Masaya sighed.

"Yes. I cannot believe that Eitaro was in league with Hashimoto Gorou…"

"You know of Gorou, Mr. Kamiyagi?" Masaya asked, perplexed.

"Oh, yes, I've heard of the man. A ruthless mafia leader that had ties to several gangs here in Tsurugigaoka," Mr. Kamiyagi nodded. "And from what I heard, it seems he has a special interest in you, Masaya."

"He had an interest in my father, but since neither he nor my mother are still alive… he's decided to take an interest in me instead. A ten-million-yen-sized, almost-two-year interest."

"Is that so? How have you been able to avoid him for this long?" Mr. Kamiyagi asked with surprise.

"Considering my line of work, I've worked hard to make myself as unknown as possible. It hasn't been easy, I'll tell you that," Masaya admitted with a sigh.

The conversation was stopped when there came the sound of a truck from the front of the gates. Together, Masaya, Mr. Kamiyagi, and most of the school turned to the gates, where a pure black truck was approaching the gates. It stopped just in front, and from it, several people emerged, immediately running towards the gates.

"What is the meaning of this?!" the headmistress exclaimed, her tone of voice still a little shaky.

"Relax, Misako-san," Masaya turned to her, holding up a hand. "I called them here. They're part of the firm I work for, and they'll make sure to clean up the mess."

"Who gave you the permission for that?!"

Masaya raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you wanted a corpse adorning the front of the school. They don't make very good decorations."

The headmistress shut up at that.

As the team got to work on the body, another person approached Masaya calmly. It was a man with neck-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a lean physique, wearing a white suit with a light blue inner shirt that complimented his eyes. Everyone was impressed when they saw the man approaching…

That is, until Masaya spoke to him, in a very deadpan tone.

"Jason, why the hell are you wearing your suit?"

Jason stopped and nearly face-planted against the ground, regarding Masaya with a twitchy eye.

"Well, excuse me for trying to look good when coming to the famous Vincennes!"

Masaya sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Jason, this is a serious matter, not a fancy dinner." Looking him up and down, Masaya nodded. "Though, it was a good move, I'll admit. You need to dress up more often. It makes you look better than the rags you wear every day."

"For Pete's sake, Masaya, they're meant to be ripped! It's fashion!" Jason exclaimed at him, making Masaya laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

Jason sighed and looked around at the gathered crowd, which was staring at the pair with a collective sweatdrop.

"So, these are the Maidens of Vincennes? Impressive, I must admit," Jason said, holding a hand against his chin. "This place really does create hothouse flowers, doesn't it?"

"You have no idea," Masaya said, looking at the gathered girls as well, even though he had already seen them several times. He placed his hands inside his pants pockets, his head hung slightly.

At that moment, the wind picked up slightly, making Masaya's hair and clothes float slightly, along with Jason's. This created something of a surreal image for the girls gathered.

To the left was the dark side: Okonogi Masaya, with his dark brown hair, dark red eyes, and equally dark clothing. His skin colour was the only part of him that stuck out the most: a tanned complexion that not many people would achieve in Tsurugigaoka.

On the right was Jason Jackson, the light side, with his white suit, light complexion, and blonde hair, not to mention his blue eyes and shirt.

Combined with their facial features (Masaya's slanted eyes and current frown made him seem slightly more tense, while Jason's softer features were about as light as his complexion) made the girls stare unabashedly at the two men on the scene.

This, subsequently, made the two aforementioned men raise an eyebrow, each.

"What are they staring at?" Jason asked.

"Probably you," Masaya shrugged, crossing his arms. "I think they've already gotten used to me, but with a pretty boy like you, they have something of a right to stare."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, Masaya. You did manage to sleep with my sister, you know," Jason teased him.

"Which I would have expected you to be a little angrier about," Masaya pointed out.

Jason shrugged. "With the way she was going, I was sure that she was going to live her life as a spinster. I was just glad she had found someone she liked."

Masaya laughed at that. "Barbara as a spinster… you know, I can actually see that happening!"

Jason laughed alongside him. "That makes two of us!"

The laughter didn't last long, but the crowd could see that these two were much closer than any average pair of guys.

Brimming with curiosity, Masaya's friends approached, with Ruriko taking the lead once again.

"Masaya-san?" Ruriko called out, drawing his attention. "Is this the Jason you mentioned back then?"

"Oh, yes," Masaya said sheepishly. "Sorry, guess I should have introduced him. Ladies, this is Jason Jackson, my support on missions and the man that relays information and mission parameters to me on the field. Jason, these are my closest friends here in Vincennes. From left to right, there's Kamiyagi Ruriko, Rousenin Rise, Sagisawa Chiho, Kitamikado Ayaka and her sister, Kitamikado Ritsuko, Yanase Konomi, and Mekata Mitsuki."

"A pleasure to meet you," Jason said with a bow.

The girls bowed, returning his greeting.

"Jason and his sister are also my closest friends in my workplace," Masaya said as the bowing finished. "I don't know what I'd have done without them."

"You'd probably have survived just fine," Jason shot back.

"Perhaps," Masaya chuckled. "But you have to admit that I'd likely have turned out a lot more antisocial."

"On that, we can agree."

"Oh, right!" Rise suddenly exclaimed, bringing everyone's attention to her. She walked up to Jason and smiled at him. "Jason-san, when you can, could you relay our sincerest thanks to your sister, Barbara-san?"

"Huh? For what?" Jason asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Masaya told us how he had acted when he first began at Sarif Industries," Chiho explained as she approached. "If it weren't for your sister, then we likely wouldn't have Masaya here with us. So for that, she has out gratitude."

Masaya sweatdropped and looked away while Jason simply smiled at the girls. "I'll make sure to pass on the message. Barbara's going to have a hard time understanding why a bunch of girls she doesn't even know want to thank her, though."

At that moment, a person outfitted in a lab coat approached Jason. "Jason-san, we have finished cleaning up the scene and have retrieved the neural hub."

"Good work," Jason nodded. "Let's head back. Masaya…" Jason turned back to his friend and held a hand out. "Don't get into too much trouble, you hear?"

Masaya chuckled and shook his hand. "Wouldn't dream of it, but you know me. Trouble follows me like a lost puppy."

"On that we can agree," Jason muttered before turning to the girls. "Ladies, a pleasure to meet you." With a bow, he turned and followed his team into the truck, which sped away.

Masaya continued watching the road even after the truck had long left, worrying his friends slightly. He had a faraway look in his eyes, yet his fists kept clenching and unclenching, as if he were jittery.

"Masaya-san?" Ruriko asked, approaching him.

Masaya sighed, the cloudiness in his eyes dissipating as he turned back to his friends. "Sorry, just a little lost in thought."

Truthfully, Masaya was glad that he and Jason had been the centre of attention. It distracted the girls from the clean-up scene going on behind them, which was usually grisly. However, he knew that this wasn't the end of the situation, and more than one girl would likely be scarred by this incident.

"Okonogi Masaya…" A snide voice cut the silence that had been left behind by the leaving of the truck. It was the headmistress, who had apparently gotten over what she had seen. "All of this does not excuse the fact that you are to leave the school."

The girls all around stared at the headmistress with shock. Was she serious about this?!

However, one unlikely person came to Masaya's rescue.

"Ah, about that…" Mr. Kamiyagi stepped forward, eyeing Masaya up and down before turning to the headmistress. "Madame Headmistress, I rescind the stipulation I told you about before."

"What?!"

The cry had come from not just the headmistress, but also Ruriko and some of the other girls.

"Yes, I see no reason to make Masaya here leave the school," Mr. Kamiyagi continued, looking back at Masaya. "He is a fine young man, and his willingness to protect not just my daughter, but this school, proves to me that he has a will that is beyond question. Also, Ruriko," he turned to his daughter, who looked back at him in wonder. "If you want Masaya as your boyfriend, I will wholeheartedly approve, and I'm sure your mother already does." Ruriko's mother nodded, coming to stand next to her husband. "I know that he will treat you well."

"Father…" Ruriko said softly, blushing.

The headmistress spluttered incoherently for a few moments, then said, "That does not matter! It has already been decided that he will leave. It is too late!"

"He is still here, is he not?" Mr. Kamiyagi raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you can still take it back."

Before the headmistress could do more than stare incredulously, Rise suddenly stepped forward, the leadership part of her personality making a full appearance as she drew herself to her fullest height and looked over the students gathered.

"Everyone!" she called out, bringing all the attention to her. "I wish to hold a Vote! Please, everyone that is for Masaya-san's expulsion, raise your hands now!"

Not a single hand rose.

"Now…" Rise continued, hope blossoming in her chest. "Now… everyone that supports Masaya-san's stay, raise your hands!"

A wave of hands rose into the air. The decision was unanimous.

All of Masaya's friends smiled widely, happiness blossoming in each of their chests.

"There you have it, Madame Headmistress!" Rise said happily, turning to the desolate headmistress. "The entire student body approves of Masaya's stay."

The headmistress sighed in annoyance, turning away. "Very well… he stays. But be sure, it wasn't because of the Vote. Circumstances changed, that's all."

Defeated, yet still as cold as always, the headmistress walked away.

"Yes!" Masaya's friends cried out together in victory.

"Masaya-san, you get to- Masaya-san?!"

Rise had turned to hug Masaya in happiness, but stopped immediately when she saw the pained look in Masaya's face. Everyone else, just confused, turned to the young man, wondering what had happened.

Masaya's face was contorted in a grimace of pain, and one of his hands was gripping the fabric of his jacket by his chest.

"Masaya, what's wrong?!" Chiho asked frantically, grabbing his arm.

Masaya motioned for her to step back a little, then his eyes suddenly widened and he coughed out a large amount of blood before collapsing, falling flat on his face.

The girls screamed, quickly crowding around him.

"Masaya-sama, what happened?!" Konomi asked, being the closest to his face.

"Bullet… time-delayed drug… affects my… health system…" Masaya ground out, one of his eyes clenched shut in pain. A moment later, both eyes closed, and his body became limp as he fell unconscious.

The girls all cried out Masaya's name, loudly enough that the sound of screeching tires was drowned out. Someone else calling out Masaya's name moments later, however, drew their attention.

"Masaya!" Jason called out as he ran towards the group, two medics just behind him. "Damnit, I'm late!"

"Jason-san!" Ruriko called out, waving at him to approach. The crowd parted, allowing the trio to approach and kneel by Masaya's limp form. "Do you know what happened?"

Jason sighed and nodded as the scientists by him got to work on helping Masaya. "Yeah, I do. My team was investigating the bullets that Eitaro's gun was using, and it turns out that they contained a little known drug that is made to outright stop the widely used Sentinel RX Health System, which Masaya uses. Hashimoto Gorou likely outfitted the bullets before giving the gun to Eitaro."

"You can help him, right?" Chiho and Ritsuko asked in tandem.

"Yes," Jason nodded. "Luckily, this isn't the first time we've encountered the drug, and we were carrying the necessary equipment to deal with it in the truck. Masaya's lucky that we were still nearby. Just a few more minutes, and there would have been no way to bring him back, as the lack of oxygen to his brain would have permanently damaged him."

The girls looked down worriedly at Masaya's face, now that the two medics had turned him onto his back for easier access to the wound. His eyes were clenched shut in pain, and his hand was still in a fist.

"Unfortunately," Jason continued, noticing their eyes' direction, "He'll be weak and in pain for a few hours. We have yet to find a way to create an immunity to the drug, but we're working on it. What Masaya needs now is rest."

"Jason-taichou," one of the medics said, drawing the man's attention. In his hands was a pincer, which was holding the bullet that had been in Masaya. "We've got it."

"Good. Store it well. With that one, we can study the effects it has on the system more closely," Jason said.

A few minutes later, the team was done, and Jason decided to carry Masaya himself. After picking him up in a fireman's carry, he turned to the girls and asked, "You wouldn't happen to have a nurse's office or something similar, would you?"

The girls nodded together and led him to the building, which was thankfully close by.

Once inside, Jason laid Masaya on one of the beds and explained to the nurse what had happened with him, detailing that he needed rest and that he might sometimes convulse due to pain but that she shouldn't give him pain relievers.

"It could have adverse consequences," Jason said seriously. "Besides, Masaya's withstood worse pain, and he should be clear in a few hours. By tomorrow, he'll be right as rain, though probably really tired."

The nurse nodded as she finished writing down the information, then set about to get Masaya comfortable. Jason left her at it and exited the room, coming to the sight of nearly the entire school gathered outside.

"He'll be fine," Jason said loudly enough that everyone heard him. "By tomorrow, he'll be up and about, but he'll likely be sluggish, so don't be too demanding with him. A sluggish or tired Masaya is a grumpy Masaya, trust me. Now, I should be going. Once again, it was a pleasure."

With that, Jason left, climbing into the truck that was just waiting outside. The crowd of girls outside the nurse's office began to disperse slowly, until the only ones left were the Red Rose and White Lily Societies, along with Marika and Aiko, the Final Course first year that Masaya had met in the recreation room.

"This has been quite a day, hasn't it?" Marika commented.

The girls made different noises of assent.

"I believe I shall head to bed. It has been a tiring day indeed, and celebrating Masaya-sama's continued stay here would look unbecoming of me as the Red Rose Society leader," Ritsuko said calmly, already turning away.

"Aw, come on, Ritsuko, loosen up," Ayaka said, putting an arm around her sister and almost sending Ritsuko's face into the side of her breasts.

"No, thank you," Ritsuko responded forcefully, pushing the arm away.

"Ah, wait for me, Onee-sama," Konomi said, following behind Ritsuko like a Chihuahua.

"Oh, Ritsuko," Ayaka sighed. "She still doesn't know when to separate her life from her duty."

"But she does raise a good point," Mitsuki said, turning as well. "Salutations, everyone."

Once she left, Marika also bid the girls goodnight, intending to talk with Mitsuki. A little while later, Aiko also left, leaving behind only the White Lily girls.

"Well, that was one rollercoaster, wouldn't you say?" Ayaka said, looking at her comrades, two of whom were looking just as haggard. The third, however, was a whole other matter. "Is something up, Ruriko?"

Rise and Chiho turned to look at Ruriko, who, now that they thought about it, had been rather quiet since Jason had confirmed that Masaya would be alright.

"Huh… What?" Ruriko slowly came back, then started when she realised all attention was on her.

"I asked if you were okay," Ayaka said.

"Oh… yes, I am just fine," Ruriko confirmed, closing her eyes and sighing blissfully as her cheeks became dusted with crimson. "The truth is… I believe I now know what love is…"

The other three girls gaped at the blonde.

"… Love? Do you mean…?" Ayaka asked, a little breathlessly.

Ruriko merely giggled.

"… I see," the oldest girl continued in a playful tone. "Looks like there's another rival in the game!"

"Rival?" Ruriko asked curiously.

"W-What are you talking about?" Chiho stuttered, blushing and looking away.

"Don't pretend you don't know," Ayaka poked the other girl on the arm. "It's just the four of us right now."

Both Rise and Chiho blushed, but remained quiet.

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Ayaka said happily, closing her eyes and placing her arms behind her head. "I bet Masaya-kun has a thing for older girls."

"I-I don't think so," Chiho said. "I think he prefers a good, childhood friend who knows him best."

"Oh, really?" Ayaka said sternly, all traces of playfulness gone. "You might have known him longer, but this isn't a bargain sale, you know."

"B-Bargain sale?!" Chiho exclaimed. "My friendship with Masaya is irreplaceable!"

"Oh, really? Even with the whole time you two were separated?" Ayaka asked. "What kind of friendship is 'childhood friends', anyways?"

"W-Well, it's… like…" Chiho floundered, trying to describe it. "You played doctor together… and stuff…"

"You did what?" Ayaka gaped.

Chiho sighed. "We didn't actually do that. The most we did is take baths together so long ago that it hardly matters."

"Hey, that still counts," Ayaka pointed out, still gaping.

A cleared throat broke the conversation and drew all attention to Rise. "Well, I am the one who brought him to Vincennes, after all."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Chiho asked, unimpressed.

"Well, h-he's most indebted to me," Rise said hotly. She then smiled. "Besides, he's closest to me, wouldn't you say?"

"I doubt that," Chiho said stubbornly.

"I must say," Ruriko cut in happily, "that I've received permission from both my parents."

"Eh? Now, Ruriko-san, you couldn't possibly mean you plan to…" Rise spluttered

"Perhaps I do," Ruriko said.

The four girls entered a fierce stare down, each one making a grunt of annoyance. Then, together, the turned away and headed back to the dorm, each one simmering in their own thoughts.

…

The next day, all of Masaya's friends came together near noon and went to visit him at the nurse's office, but when they got there, he was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, Masaya?" the nurse said, placing the pen in her hand to her chin. "He already left. He had already woken up when I checked on him this morning, and as soon as I gave him the clear, he bounced from the bed and went on his way."

The room's temperature seemed to fall a few degrees as the four White Lily girls became angry. The Red Rose members took a few steps back, wary of the sudden darkness that had appeared around the girls.

"And he couldn't have left a message or something?" Ayaka said, annoyance clear in her tone.

"After we were all so worried about him," Rise agreed.

"What an idiot," Chiho said.

Ruriko said nothing, but her annoyance was clear.

"I'd say he's probably in his room right now," the nurse said, feeling sorry for Masaya.

With a few thanks from the girls, the group left, the White Lily Society stalking towards the Final Course dorm.

"Oh… when I get my hands on him," Chiho growled.

…

A knock on his door distracted Masaya from the maintenance he was doing on his arms.

As soon as he had woken up this morning, at around five, he had contacted HQ and gotten a sit rep of what had happened to him. Once he was filled in, and despite his dislike of hospital rooms, he waited patiently until the nurse returned, which wasn't too far later.

Once he was cleared to leave, he immediately returned to his room, where he spent an entire hour under hot water in his bath. It always served to calm him, and this time, he certainly needed to relax.

When he had gotten out, he realised that it had been some time since he had last checked his arms, and that they'd likely have suffered a little from the drug that had been in his system. So he first checked over his health system, making sure that it was in perfect running condition, then began the check-up on his arms.

Leaving one of his arms on the bed, he turned and went to the door, checking it with his Smart Vision beforehand. Upon seeing who it was, a wide smile came to his lips, and he opened the door.

"Morning," he said happily, grinning at the now dumbstruck girls at the threshold.

The girls, who had either been angry or apprehensive at the angry ones, were all thrown for a loop when they saw a shirtless, one-armed Masaya standing there, smiling as if the lack of an entire limb was nothing.

The anger in the White Lily girls was quickly replaced with a mixture of lust and embarrassment when they saw Masaya in such a state. The definition of his torso, along with the slight smears of what seemed to be oil on it and on his cheek gave him a decidedly manly air, of which the girls couldn't get enough. Even the Red Rose girls had to admit that it was some good eye candy.

Masaya raised an eyebrow when he received no response, then realised where they were looking and looked down at himself. "Oh, right. Shirtless." Turning around and giving the girls a good view of his back muscles, he walked back inside the room and waved at the girls to enter. "You can come on in, I'll put something on."

Slowly, the girls entered the room, watching as Masaya deftly put a sleeveless, white shirt on, making it look easy despite only having one arm. It seemed this wasn't the first time this had happened.

"So, what brings you ladies to my humble abode today?" Masaya said as he turned back to his bed, where, on a black towel, was his arm and some metal pieces.

That was when the girls remembered why they had stalked all the way there.

"Masaya-san…" Rise was the one to begin, grinding her teeth slightly as she looked at the young man. "Why weren't you at the nurse's office this morning?"

Masaya looked at her. "Did the nurse not explain it?"

"Oh, she did. We would just like to hear it from you," Ruriko said, faux-calmly.

"Well, for one, I hate hospitals," Masaya said as he turned back to his arm and continued his check-up. "When I knew that I was good to go, I came back to my room and spent some time in the shower, then started to check my body to make sure everything was working fine, and that leads us to now."

"And you couldn't have, I don't know, waited for us to come see you, or at least left a note or message?" Ayaka said, annoyance in her tone.

Masaya looked at her in askance. "Is that was this is about? This is a pretty small school, all things considered. Unless I went outside, for which I'd definitely have let you know, I saw no reason to do so."

The girls sighed in tandem, all four annoyed at Masaya's perceived thick-headedness.

Masaya chuckled and turned back to his arm, noticing that a familiar face had approached the bed and was looking on with curiosity. "Interested, Aiko?"

"You bet, Masaya-sama," Aiko gushed, eyes alit with curiosity.

Masaya laughed and let her watch on, drawing the rest of the girls into the matter when he began to explain and show how everything worked and came together.

…

Sometime later in the week, Masaya received word that the incident was being set up as a suicide, and unfortunately, the company couldn't deny that Eitaro had a neural hub in his brain. It was something that definitely made a lot of people turn away from the company, but nowhere near enough to make Sarif Industries fall. Masaya, it seemed, was in the clear, and with that, he could breathe easier. The only ones who knew the truth were the people of Vincennes, and they never divulged anything that happened behind the walls, especially something like this.

...

...

...


	10. Chapter 10

The next Sunday, Masaya was resting in his room when there was a knock on the door.

"Coming."

When he opened it, Rise and Chiho were standing there.

"Oh. Hey, girls. What's up?"

"Ruriko-san baked some bread this morning. Do you want to have tea in the Rose Garden with us, Masaya?" Chiho asked.

Masaya grinned. "Sure, sounds fun. Just give me a second."

Leaving the door open, Masaya picked up both of his phones and placed them in his pocket before changing his shirt to a plain white one. Once ready, he went with the girls.

Arriving at the garden, Masaya was interested to see not only Ruriko, but also Ritsuko and Konomi.

"Hey, everyone," Masaya greeted when they arrived.

"Salutations," Ritsuko returned politely.

"Salutations!" Konomi greeted him more excitedly.

"Salutations, Masaya-san," Ruriko greeted.

All three girls blushed when they noticed the way Masaya's shirt stretched over his chest.

Masaya sat at the table with Rise and Chiho, then looked over the food.

"Wow… this looks amazing. Ruriko-san, you made this all yourself?"

"Yes. I am glad you appreciate it," Ruriko smiled.

"Well, itadakimasu," Masaya said, reaching for one of the baguettes and taking a bite. "… Umph… wonderful. Nice and warm, and the buttery taste inside only makes it greater."

Ruriko beamed at his praise.

The next few minutes were spent eating in friendly company, until Masaya noted a little discrepancy.

"Hey, where are Mitsuki-san and Ayaka-san? Shouldn't they be here?"

"I emailed both, but Mitsuki-sama declined. Sister did not answer," Ritsuko explained.

"Odd," Masaya shrugged, serving himself a bit more tea.

Sometime later, as they were starting to be done with the food, Chiho asked Rise a question.

"Hey, Rise-san, I've been wondering…" When they attention was on her, Chiho continued. "Why integration? There are a lot of ways to raise money. So why choose that?"

The table went silent, the attention having shifted to Rise. The rest of the table had to admit that they were also curious.

Rise, for her part, blushed and looked down momentarily. When she looked back up, she was looking at Masaya with shifty eyes.

"Um… Masaya-san, I'm sorry to ask this, but could you leave the table? This is… a little embarrassing..."

Masaya laughed and stood calmly. "No worries, I can understand that look on your face. Girl talk, am I right?"

Rise laughed sheepishly and nodded.

"I was about done anyways. I'll be back in my room if you need me." With that, Masaya said goodbye to the girls and walked away with a bit of a skip in his step. Ever since he had been told about the results of the Vote (for which he had been in too much pain to pay attention), he had felt much happier knowing that the girls had warmed up to him so much.

On his way to his room, Masaya ran into one of the people that he had asked for a little while ago.

"Oh, Ayaka-san," Masaya greeted when he saw her approach.

"Salutations, Masaya-kun," Ayaka greeted with a grin, almost immediately latching onto his arm. "Were you looking for me?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Not particularly, but I _was_ wondering where you were. I was just in the Rose Garden with our friends, and they were wondering where you were too."

"Oh, so that's what that message was about?" Ayaka said as if coming to a realisation.

"Huh?"

At Masaya's confusion, Ayaka pulled out her phone and showed him the last message she had received, from Ritsuko, no less.

'Rose Garden. Starting now.'

Masaya stared at the screen for a few moments, then looked away and snickered. "Wow… that's hilarious."

"Isn't it?" Ayaka laughed. "Her messages are so hard to understand sometimes."

After getting their laughter under control, Ayaka began to tug Masaya in another direction. "Actually, Masaya-kun, I was hoping you would help me with something."

"Hmm?" Masaya regarded her with a curious eye.

"Since the pool is opening up tomorrow, the swimming club has to clean it up. With it being such a long time since it last opened, it's gathered a lot of grime. The swimming club hates to clean it up, though, because it's such a hard job."

"I think I see where this is going," Masaya muttered in deadpan.

"Yep!" Ayaka chirped. "I thought that we, as in the White Lily Society, could clean it up and bring up our reputation a bit, don't you think?"

Masaya thought it over and shrugged. "Sure, why not? I don't have anything else to do for the day."

"Yay!" Ayaka cheered and began to pull Masaya faster. "Come on, I told them I wouldn't be long."

Masaya chuckled as he followed behind the girl.

Once they arrived, there was an awkward quiet moment as the girls inside the pool, all in swimsuits, stared at Ayaka and Masaya, who was looking uninterested and had crossed his arms, though it was mostly an act. If he was seen acting lewdly, it would reflect poorly on him, but he couldn't deny that the sight of the girls in swimsuits stirred a part of him he thought he had largely repressed.

Regardless, the girls still screamed in embarrassment, throwing whatever they had nearby at the young man. Masaya easily dodged the flying brushes, and even caught three in his hands, before the girls ran out of things to throw, berated Ayaka for bringing Masaya, and then left in a hurry.

"Oops… there they go…" Ayaka said, watching the girls run into the changing room.

Masaya sighed and shook his head. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"Nonsense, Masaya-kun," Ayaka said with a wink. "I'll go get the other girls, and we can start working."

"I'm guessing they're still in the Rose Garden," Masaya said. Truthfully, he knew perfectly well where they were, as the GPS tracking system in his chip told him that the girls, who all had their phones on them, were still gathered there.

"Wait for me, okay?" Ayaka said with puppy dog eyes. "Don't go anywhere."

Masaya laughed and made shooing motions. "Go get them, girl. I'll be here."

"Good!" With that, Ayaka turned and jogged off.

…

Back in the Rose Garden, the girls were all looking at Rise expectantly.

"Well, there's a few reasons why I chose to push for integration, but the main one is… a bit personal."

Following that cryptic sentence, Rise explained about what happened to her on the day the Tsurugigaoka Murder-Arson happened at a nearby shrine. She explained how she had met a boy beforehand when she had gotten lost on her way back home, and the boy had selflessly led her back to her home. She wasn't sure how he knew where she lived, until he explained that the Rousenin household was well known, so he had a basic idea. Unfortunately, she had never told him her actual name, instead using the title she had back then, Lis Branche. When she described the boy, who she said was her first love, one of their group was in for a massive shock.

'A young boy who was wearing a Keihan Bulldogs cap because the barber had accidentally cut all his hair off.'

To Sagisawa Chiho, only one person fit that description, but she refused to believe it.

Masaya had agreed to go with her to the festival… but he had called it off at the last minute. Could this young man really have been the same boy? No! He couldn't be!

She hardly listened to when Rise got to the part about the festival, but when Rise's tone suddenly became serious, she focused once again. Rise explained that the boy, who she had affectionately nicknamed Chien due to the baseball cap, had been with her for a while, enjoying the festival, when the fire started. They had tried to get out, but the murderer had focused on them when he or she found them, so it was difficult to escape. And when it seemed like the murderer was going to get them, Chien had selflessly jumped in front of her and taken the blow for her, which distracted the killer enough that she could escape. She had hated herself for running like a coward, but it was true that they were out of danger.

Unfortunately, she had never seen him again. She had visited the hospital where the victims were taken many times, but she hadn't seen him.

"I always hoped to meet him again…" Rise said forlornly.

Chiho gasped a little, though none of the other girls noticed.

That was a good point. It was understandable that Rise wouldn't recognise Masaya, if it really was him, due to the large changes that Masaya had gone through. But why hadn't Masaya recognised Rise?

Chiho knew that she was grasping at straws, but it was still a fair point.

"That day was when I knew that men shouldn't be discounted. There are only two genders in the world, and one of them shouldn't be segregated from the other. That is my reason, Chiho-san."

"I-I see," Chiho responded a little shakily, still in shock over the revelations.

"I see, then…" Ruriko began. "That explains it! Rise-san, you didn't want to be caught between your first love and Masaya-san, were you?"

"H-Huh?! Wait, that's… That's not…!" Rise spluttered incoherently at Ruriko's words.

"Isn't it? But I was so sure that was why you asked Masaya-san to leave," Ruriko said innocently.

"No… not at all… it's just an embarrassing story, is all…" Rise said, flustered. "A-and do not say I am caught between them… that's r-ridiculous…"

"Oh, so you do not feel that way about Masaya-san? That makes me very happy!" Ruriko cheered.

"… I didn't say that," Rise responded dully.

"Oh… I am sorry," Ruriko responded with a smile.

"A-Anyways, that was then. This is now." With those words, Rise closed the subject, just as another person approached the group.

"Salutations, everyone," Ayaka said as she approached.

"Oh, Sister," Ritsuko said when she saw who it was. "You're very late."

"No thanks to you," Ayaka responded playfully. "You should really be a little more descriptive with your emails, Ritsuko."

"Should I? I was sure I put all the necessary information in it," Ritsuko said, puzzled.

"You still need to learn to send emails properly," Ayaka sighed. "But, anyways, I came for another reason. How about the White Lilies take on some community service?"

…

Back at the pool, Masaya was currently in a pair of black shorts with white, side stripes, scrubbing away at the pool. Once Ayaka was out of sight, he had quickly run back to his room and gotten the shorts, then ran back, making it back with more than enough time to spare. After making sure no one was nearby, he had quickly changed, then picked up one of the long brushes and gotten to work.

"Masaya-kun!"

The call of his name drew his attention, and he turned, only to come to a startling sight: each of the group that had been at the Rose Garden, standing in a little group, and all in swimsuits.

Masaya blinked, momentarily stunned by the image. A cry of indignation from one of the members drew him back to the living world.

"Ayaka-sama! You never said that Masaya-sama would be here!" Konomi cried out, immediately jumping in front of Ritsuko to block her from Masaya's view.

"What? Come on, he's part of the White Lily Society, of course he should take part," Ayaka said succinctly.

Konomi groaned a little, then blushed when she realised that Masaya was likely looking at her as well.

Masaya quickly got his reaction under control before the girls noticed and walked to the edge of the pool, effortlessly pulling himself up. Once he was standing tall, it was the girls' turn to stare, as the shorts Masaya was wearing started at his lower hips, denoting a v-cut on his lower abdomen, and only came down to his knees. It was quite the image, and the robotic parts that extended from his pants leg didn't take away from it in the slightest. Instead, much like the way his arms were, it only showed another part of Masaya's bravery and will to live.

"You're finally back," Masaya commented, approaching the group, his feet making little 'clink' sounds when they met the concrete. "I thought I'd have to do the whole pool on my own."

"No way, I'm not that cruel," Ayaka said. Then, she suddenly took a pose, her breasts being pushed to the forefront. "So, Masaya-kun… how does this look make you feel?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow, half at Ayaka's boldness and half at the reactions of the other girls. Each one was slightly glaring at Ayaka, but it seemed like the kind of competitive glaring, as if Ayaka had started a race without them.

 _'_ _This is an interesting little development,'_ Masaya thought.

"Well, you certainly look hot," Masaya said with a chuckle.

"Oh? Thank you," Ayaka smirked, approaching him with a swing of her hips that drew Masaya's eyes. "Do you like it?"

"I can't say I dislike it, that's for sure," Masaya smirked, approaching as well. Then, when she was close enough, he reached out and poked her forehead, making her take a step back with a little mewl of disapproval. "Stop it. I don't want arguments when we should be working together."

Ayaka made an odd sound of displeasure, but shook it off. Meanwhile, Masaya looked around, taking in the image a little more fully. If he had to put them in groups, which he never actually liked to do, Ayaka and Ruriko were definitely the curviest of the group. Their bodies were filled in nicely, and their breasts were comparably similar in size. Meanwhile, Chiho and Rise were smaller, but no worse. Their figure was leaner, making for a good balance of hips and breasts. Finally, there were Ritsuko and Konomi, who were both small-chested, but with their small frames and cute looks, it went well.

The girls quailed a little under Masaya's gaze, realising he was studying them, but before anyone could call him out on it, the young man turned away, his back to them.

"Come on, we don't have all day," Masaya said, jumping back into the pool. He stepped forward and picked up his brush, all the while intently listening to what was happening behind him.

"He was definitely looking at us… that way…" Rise's whisper sounded both embarrassed and… pleased?

"That pervert…" Chiho muttered, but it didn't seem to carry any real weight.

"Masaya-san…" Ruriko's moan, for that was what it was, made Masaya get goose bumps all over his chest.

Ritsuko didn't really say anything, but when Masaya turned, he could see that she was lightly blushing.

Konomi just looked a little outraged, but was also blushing, hotly.

Ayaka was still in the same position, gazing at Masaya with unreadable eyes.

"Well? This place isn't going to clean itself," Masaya called out, starting to brush once again.

The girls joined him moments later.

…

It took about an hour and a half, but with their teamwork, it was quickly taken care of.

With the supervision of Sister Mishima, the pool was filled, the water sparkling under the falling sun.

"Wow… that looks refreshing," Masaya said wistfully. "It's too bad I can't go in."

"What are you talking about, Masaya-kun?" Ayaka said incredulously.

Masaya glanced at her in askance.

"You contributed to the cleaning! Of course you should get to enjoy it!"

"Oh… neat," Masaya said with a little smile.

Everyone was set to jump in, but before they could, a yell rent the air.

Masaya immediately turned to the source, his training shining through. "Ruriko-san? What's the matter?!"

Ruriko shakily pointed to the fence that closed off the pool, where Masaya saw a shadowy figure bolt away. His teeth immediately clenched, holding back a growl.

An intruder.

"I'll get him!" Konomi yelled, starting to run off, but a hand grabbed the back of her swimsuit, holding her back. When she looked, she was startled to see an expression of pure anger on Masaya's face.

He said only three words.

"No. He's mine."

Then, before anyone could say anything, he ran forward and jumped, easily clearing the fence, then bolted as soon as his feet hit the ground on the other side.

The man was certainly fast, but he was no match for Masaya's speed. Masaya easily caught up with the man, then outran him and stopped in front of him, blocking his way.

"What?!" the intruder yelped, stopping. Once he realised what had happened, he growled and pulled out a knife. "Get out of my way!"

Masaya stared at him impassively.

"I said, get out of my way!"

No response.

The intruder yelled out and thrust the knife, but his stab went way off when Masaya's hand came up and impacted against his wrist, sending his arm flying up but leaving his body rushing forward. Before the man could say anything, his vision was filled with black as Masaya's fist approached his face, then pain exploded on his face when the fist connected with his cheek and sent him flying back.

The man yelled out in pain and held his impacted cheek, having landed on his behind. He looked up, and the yell became a whimper when he saw Masaya standing over him, the sun just behind him, casting him in an almost angelic light.

This angel, however, had little mercy.

Masaya's hand snaked out and grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck, pulling him up effortlessly. Masaya then brought the man close to his face, staring into his scared eyes.

"You listen to me, and listen to me well. I don't take kindly to perverts that want to make my friends part of their sick fantasies. So if I ever see you again, you can be sure that I'm going to be much less merciful."

Masaya released the man and let him drop to the ground, then picked up the man's camera and crushed it with his hand.

The man simply whimpered pitifully.

Masaya turned when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, gazing at the Gardiane as they ran to the scene.

"He's all yours," Masaya said, turning and walking away.

"Wait, Okonogi Masaya," the captain called out, making Masaya stop and turn back. "We need your statement about this."

"Ruriko-san saw him, I chased after him, and he pulled out a knife and tried to stab me. I punched him in the face, then gave him a warning about staying away from my friends and crushed his camera. Is that good enough?"

The captain blinked at the succinct explanation, but nodded and waved at him. With a sigh, Masaya walked back to the pool, where the girls were waiting.

"Masaya-san!" Ruriko cried out when she spotted him. The group approached and peppered him with questions immediately.

"Hey, quit it!" Masaya yelled out, making them back off. "One by one, jeez… The Gardiane have him in custody right now, don't worry."

"Really, Masaya-san? No word on how you stopped him and caught him?" a voice said from behind him.

Masaya sighed, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "I should have known you'd seen that, Tamie-san."

"Hehe, of course I did," Tamie responded smugly. Without another word, she pulled up her camera and turned the screen towards us. "Check it out!"

The girls crowded around, Masaya looking over Chiho's shoulder. Tamie had taken a perfect snapshot of the moment when he had picked up the man and was talking to him face to face. On one side of the picture was Masaya, whose eyes were narrowed and looked completely unforgiving, along with his mouth set in a tight scowl. On the other side was the perpetrator, who was staring at Masaya with pure fear and whose mouth was open in shock.

"Wow…" Rise and Chiho said together.

"Amazing," the busty duo, as Masaya began affectionately calling them, said.

"How brave…" Konomi said, awestruck.

Ritsuko simply gazed at it with wide eyes.

"Masaya-san was quite amazing, too," Tamie gushed. "The man pulled out a knife and yelled at Masaya to move, but Masaya stood firm, and then the man went to stab him!" She imitated the stab, complete with a little whoosh. "But Masaya hit the man's wrist faster than I could see, then decked him on the cheek!" She pretended to punch herself, imitating Masaya's actions. "And the man fell back and Masaya walked up to him, looking all cool, and picked him up! What did you say to him, anyway?"

The rest of the girls looked at Masaya, waiting for his answer. Masaya crossed his arms and looked away with a small smile. "I just warned him against perving on my friends. That's something I can't stand."

The girls looked at him with a little awe, which Masaya had to admit he liked.

"But enough about that," he said, turning back to the girls with a smirk. "Shouldn't we be taking a dip right now?"

"Speaking of that, Masaya-san, I've been wondering," Rise asked, looking him up and down. "Wouldn't your mechanical parts malfunction if you jumped in?"

"Oh, not at all. My company made sure the parts were waterproof. Otherwise, I would always need to wear protective clothing in case of rain, don't you think?"

The girls nodded in understanding, then looked at Sister Mishima, who had been watching their interactions with an amused expression.

"Well, Sister, can we go in?" Ayaka asked.

"By all means, I approve of it," Mishima smiled.

Masaya smiled, then fell backwards, startling the girls until they heard the splash. They ran forward and looked inside, spotting Masaya swimming away and breaking the surface about halfway down the pool.

"Come on in! Water's cold!" Masaya grinned evilly.

The girls now seemed much more apprehensive.

...

The rest of the days went by in a boring manner for Masaya. The days blurred together, and without much to do, Masaya found himself spending more and more time in the company of at least one of his friends.

It was about a month later that Masaya decided he had spent long enough holding a secret in. There was only one girl that he had been less than truthful with, and with how long they had spent together, he figured that she had a right to know.

So one Saturday, as the White Lily Society was disbanding for the day, Masaya stood and said, "Rise-san, could we talk... in private?"

The rest of the girls stared at the duo suspiciously, while Rise looked at Masaya with curiosity.

Once the rest of the girls were gone, Masaya walked around the table and stood in front of Rise, who watched him apprehensively.

"Rise..." The lack of honorific only denoted how personal this talk likely was. "There's... something I haven't told you. When I saw you back in Tsurugigaoka, I was sure of it, but I felt that it wasn't the best time to say it, especially with what you'd told me afterwards, in my apartment. That, and my insecurities held me back from admitting it. But now... I feel that I've held onto this for too long. You deserve to know."

"Know what, Masaya-san?" Rise asked, her voice a little shaky.

Masaya took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do. Withdrawing his shades, he looked right into her eyes and said, "The Tsurugigaoka Shrine Murder-Arson. You were almost killed there by the assailant, Lis Branche."

Rise's face paled. "H-How do you know that? Were you...?"

"Listening in to your girl talk? No, I wasn't. But I had a hunch about what it was about," Masaya said softly. "I know... because I was there... with you."

Rise's eyes widened, and her pupils shrank. Her breathing suddenly became laboured. "T-Then... You are..."

"Yes," Masaya nodded. "I am Okonogi Masaya, the then boy who you nicknamed... Chien."

Rise stared at Masaya, a million emotions flying through her eyes. Masaya maintained the eye connection, trying to show her through his eyes that yes, he was the young man that had taken a slash to the back for her in the middle of an arson.

Then, suddenly, Rise ran around him, confusing him momentarily. When he felt her hands attempt to lift the back of his shirt upwards, he understood and lifted it himself, laying his back bare for her to see.

Rise gasped as she beheld the long, diagonal scar that she had seen before but never connected with anything. When she first saw it, in Masaya's apartment, she had inferred that he had gotten it from one of his missions, like the other three or four scars that littered his back. But no... this diagonal scar had appeared on his body long before he was augmented.

This scar, more than anything proved to Rise the truth.

The young, funny boy who had been her first love... the selfless boy who had taken a slash to the back for her...

That boy had grown and become this powerful, selfless man in front of her.

That boy was Okonogi Masaya.

The man in question simply stood there, waiting with bated breath for any reaction from the girl. He could hear her breath become shorter by the minute until it stopped outright, then, a moment later, he felt her hand land on the scar and trace it, sending tingles through his body. The hand withdrew, and Rise's body took its place, her arms wrapping around his torso as she finally let the floodgates of her eyes loose and cried.

"M-Masaya-san! It really is you! Oh, I'm so glad!" Rise cried, her body shaking with sobs.

Masaya smiled softly and carefully pried her arms from his body, turning around and hugging her properly. Rise, now being able to bury her face into Masaya's chest, did just that and let loose the feeling of love and sadness she had held onto for nearly eight years, completely drenching Masaya's shirt. Masaya simply smiled and held her, stroking her hair softly. If he were still able to cry, he would have let loose too.

Eventually, as Rise's tears began to dry up, Masaya moved closer to a chair in order to sit her down so they could talk properly. However, after having lost him for such a long time, Rise was in no way letting go of him, so he ended up sitting on the chair, with Rise on his lap. Rise blushed at the position, but every time Masaya made to move away, her grip would tighten significantly, so he decided to let it be.

With Rise sitting sideways on his lap, her arms around his neck, Masaya had to force down his natural reaction. It was a very intimate moment, and while he felt a little awkward, he also felt happy that Rise trusted him enough to allow this.

"H-How long have you known?" Rise asked, her crying leaving behind a little stutter.

"Ever since my accident," Masaya responded, his hand still tracing her long hair. "I guess the trauma of the arson made me forget it, because when I first saw the scar, I had no idea how I'd gotten it. But the explosion later on must have broken that. While I was undergoing my therapy to get used to my limbs, I just woke up one morning with my mind on that day. I was confused at first, but after looking it up, I realised I really had been caught in the event. Afterwards, my mind naturally went to you, wondering how you were and if you had managed to escape safely."

Rise smiled and sniffled, then frowned and looked up at Masaya. "Wait. If you knew about it for so long, why haven't you said anything until now?"

Masaya looked away. "To be honest... when I first saw you, in the city, I wasn't sure if it was you or not. I didn't want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed. It was only after a few minutes of studying how you acted and your looks that I realised you really were Lis Branche. But by that point, we were in my apartment and I was about to show you my body for the first time."

The words that Masaya had spoken came back to her, along with the world-weary facial expression he'd had at that moment.

 _'Don't run when you see what I mean.'_

"So, when you asked me not to run..." Rise began.

Masaya nodded. "I didn't know how I would handle the rejection of the girl who I'd jumped in front of a blade for, but I know it wouldn't have gone well. I'm just glad that didn't happen."

"No matter what happened to your body, I could never reject you," Rise said firmly, tightening her hold on his neck. "Even if I was meeting you for the first time."

Masaya held her tighter as well. "You know, I fully believe you. Your nature is something I can't help but love about you."

Rise blushed and made an 'eep' noise, digging her face into his neck to escape his smirking visage. When she heard him sigh, though, she looked at him once again.

"What's the matter?"

"Well… there's someone else who I need to explain the situation to… and she's not going to be happy about it, that's for sure."

"Who?"

"Chiho."

"Chiho-san?" Rise asked with confusion. "Why?"

"Because… do you remember how, when you asked me to go to the festival, how I hesitated slightly before agreeing?"

Rise nodded, slightly confused, but then the pieces clicked in her mind and she gasped.

"You don't mean…?"

Masaya nodded shamefully. "Yeah. Chiho had asked me first, and I had agreed. But then… when I met you, all thoughts of Chiho went out the window. I know what you're going to ask," Masaya said, holding up a hand to cut her question short, "And trust me when I say that I myself don't know why I chose you over Chiho. I could say that I knew I could go other times with Chiho, or that I felt that I might not ever meet you again, but I don't know if those would be lies because, truthfully, I don't remember my reasoning. In the end, I did blow Chiho off, and that's one thing I've never forgiven myself for and don't think she might forgive. But regardless, I do plan to apologise."

Rise nodded. "You definitely should." A moment later, however, she drew herself closer to him and smiled in bliss. "But that can wait a little, can't it?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Of all times, you choose now to be a little selfish?"

"Oh, shush," Rise chided him good-naturedly, and both of them laughed.

…

A few minutes later, Chiho entered the room, having received a message from Masaya to come meet him there.

"Masaya?" Chiho called out.

"Here," he responded, leaning against the table and looking out the window, arms crossed. At a corner of the room, Rise was standing with her arms behind her.

"What did you call me for?" Chiho asked, and though she tried to mask it, Masaya still heard the tone of uncertainty and sadness in it.

Masaya sighed and turned around, showing Chiho his face. Chiho was surprised when she saw his eyes tilted in sadness.

"I asked you to come here… so that I could apologise."

Chiho reeled back in shock. "Apologise? For what?"

Masaya walked up to her, arms still crossed. "I'm sure you know for what, Chiho. I know what Rise talked to you about some time ago before we cleaned the pool. And you are a very smart girl. I know you connected the dots."

Chiho gasped, stepping back a little when she remember that, and at the same time realising that she was right.

Chien _was_ Masaya.

"No… no, no, no… It can't be…"

Masaya walked with her until her back was to the wall, sadness on his face the entire time. "It is, Chiho. And I know it won't cut it, but…"

Here, Masaya fell to his knees, surprising both Chiho and Rise. His head was bowed low, and his voice lowered a bit, but it was filled with pure regret. "I'm sorry. I'm so, _so_ sorry for what I did. I should have never done that, and I'm being completely honest with you when I say that I don't know why I did it. But I did, and though at the time I didn't know or understand the repercussions of it, I do now, and I can't express to you how sorry I am."

Both girls stared down at Masaya, neither being able to figure out what to say. In the end, Chiho was the first to react, falling to her knees in front of him and, to his surprise, slapping him right on the cheek, making his head tilt to the side, as she still didn't have the strength to topple him. However, that slap hurt more emotionally than physically.

"You idiot… Yes, I felt bad because you did that… but in the end, that day ended in disaster, so it was probably for the best that we didn't go."

"But it still hurt… didn't it?" Masaya asked with a sigh.

"Yeah… I'm not going to deny that… but that was a long time ago, and back then you were a much bigger idiot than you are now. The fact that you remembered and want to apologise is enough to me, Masaya. Just please… don't hurt me like that again, okay?"

Masaya smiled tenderly and brought her into his arms, drawing a little gasp from Chiho. "Thank you, Chiho. Thank you so much. And I promise, I'll do my best to not hurt you."

"Can you make that promise physically as well? Because I can't breathe!" Chiho gasped.

"Oh!" Masaya let her go and jumped back a little, rubbing the back of his head as Chiho gasped for air. "Hehe, sorry."

A quiet laugh from the corner drew their attention to Rise, who was giggling into her hand. "You two are so fun to watch."

"Oh yeah?" Chiho asked challengingly. "I bet you wouldn't last three seconds into a Masaya bear hug!"

Masaya's head snapped to Chiho's direction, confusion clear on his face. Where the hell had that come from?

"Can too!" Rise responded heatedly, immediately taking up the challenge. "You could hardly last two seconds with a simple hug!"

"Hey, he was hugging my neck, and besides, he wasn't controlling his strength!"

"She's right, you know," Masaya added.

"You shush!" Rise exclaimed at him. "Very well! Masaya-san, come over here and bear hug me! I will show you I can do it!"

Masaya stood up and dusted off his pants, helping Chiho off the floor as well. Then, he winked at his childhood friend and walked over to where Rise was, in a corner of the room. Halfway there, his eyes began to become half-lidded, his mouth turned into a small, yet confident smirk, and his walking became more seductive, and at the same time, more cautious, like a hunter stalking its prey. Noticing all of this, Rise gulped and blushed, taking a step back and realising that she was in a corner, so there was nowhere to go. She looked up with wide eyes, her pupils dilating slightly and her breathing becoming laboured. What she didn't realise was that Masaya had used one of his augmentations, a pheromone releaser, to alter her hormones. Along with her own attraction to him, the pheromones were affecting her nerves and reactions.

As soon as he was in front of her, he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her waist. Rise gasped as she was suddenly pressed against his body, and by instinct, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes becoming half-lidded due to the proximity.

"Masaya-san…" she murmured, moving forward a little.

What Masaya didn't realise was that his released pheromones were also affecting Chiho, as just watching this was getting the girl a little turned on. The little possessive part of her brain was shut up temporarily as she watched her childhood friend slowly approach and seduce Rousenin Rise, his predatory facial expression sending shivers up her spine. She could feel herself becoming aroused, and even though she tried to contain it, her lower lips began to moisten up slightly.

Rise was much worse off, as she was the full receiver of the pheromones and Masaya's seductive look. Her knickers were already soaked, and unfortunately, she couldn't control that.

Masaya was, unfortunately, slightly oblivious to this, as he was a little too focused on his plan. He placed his face closer to Rise's, and whispered, "Hey, Rise?"

"Y-Yes?" Rise whispered back, her voice breathy.

"Anaconda squeeze."

"Wha-? ACK!"

Rise made a strangled noise between a gasp and a choking noise as Masaya suddenly raised his arms to her stomach level and significantly tightened his grip, making the air to her lungs be cut off sharply. She gasped and strained to hold on, remembering the declaration she had made to Chiho, who was currently banging the table and laughing at Rise's facial expression. Masaya himself was grinning like a buffoon, thoroughly enjoying teasing Rise this way.

After about half a minute, and as he watched Rise's face slowly turn blue, Masaya realised that her pride wouldn't allow her to give up. As such, he stopped squeezing her, whereupon she let out an explosive breath, then collapsed against his arms, her body bending backwards and her eyes wide, with her face slowly regaining colour.

"Oops, I think I broke her," Masaya chortled, making Chiho splutter in an effort to keep her laughter in. Masaya then put on a thinking expression before smiling almost evilly and picking Rise up enough that he was able to march her over to where Chiho was standing, who watched as he held Rise up by her back and shoulders. "Hey, Chiho."

"What?"

Masaya smirked suggestively and simply said, "Sandwich."

With Rise being still out of it, she didn't quite catch the meaning behind that, but Chiho, still being under the effects of the pheromones, immediately got it and blushed crimson at the images that flew through her head. However, she wasn't one to pass up messing with others, good-naturedly of course, so she nodded with a similar evil grin and approached the duo, wrapping her arms around Rise. Masaya, being the biggest of the three, wrapped his arms around both Rise and Chiho, an action that finally made Rise pay attention.

"Hey, what are you two-! Argh!"

Rise's speech was once again cut short as Chiho squeezed the living daylights out of her, followed by Masaya squeezing both of them. Chiho's face went from happiness to shock as she realised that Masaya was now strong enough to squeeze both of them without problems, and her breathing was being cut short as well. This made her arms slacken, which gave Rise some more breathing room, but she was still being squeezed between Masaya's chest and Chiho's body, a position which made her blush as images raced through her head.

Finally, Masaya decided they'd had enough and loosened his arms, letting both girls go. Their legs weak, the girls stumbled to the table and leaned against it, catching their breaths.

"Well, this has been fun, and enlightening, but I need to get going," Masaya said as he looked at the clock on the wall. He walked to the door and waved over his shoulder at the girls. "Catch you two later!"

With that, he opened the door, looked at them over his shoulder, winked, tapped his nose, and then left, shocking both girls.

A minute passed filled with silence, which was then broken by Chiho's awkward laughter as she turned to Rise.

"He knew, didn't he?"

Rise sighed and looked down. "Yes, I am fairly sure that's what he meant."

"But I don't think he _knew_ , though," Chiho said vaguely.

"What do you mean?" Rise asked.

"Come on, Rise-san. I doubt he knew what that meant. Otherwise, don't you think he'd have made a move on one of us?" Chiho asked.

Rise thought this over momentarily, then shook her head. "I am not so sure. I doubt he would make a move on one of us when both of us are here, and you know how he is with his loved ones, Chiho-san. He would never want to hurt us, even if unintentionally. I think that mindset is holding him back from pursuing what he wants."

"The question is, what _does_ he want?" Chiho asked as she looked at the door.

"I am still not sure. He may have given us his history, but his true feelings are quite well hidden," Rise said with a frown. "And I am afraid that is something he has conditioned himself to do."

Chiho continued looking at the door, sadness on her face. "I wish we could help him."

"We can, Chiho-san," Rise smiled at her consolingly. "We just need to give him time. The type of isolation Masaya-san has been through is the kind that just can't be fixed in a short time."

Chiho nodded in agreement, then laughed suddenly, startling Rise. She moved away from the table, stretching her legs a little, then looked at Rise and nodded towards the door. "Come on, let's go back. We both need to change, right?"

Rise laughed along with her and went along.

…

…

…


	11. Chapter 11

As it turned out, the photo that Tamie had taken of Masaya holding the peeping tom was quite well taken. The downside? It still looked violent to many of the girls, especially due to Masaya's unforgiving expression. His actions gained him favour, sure, but the way he handled it also lost him some. As such, while they were doing well when it came to supporters, they hadn't increased much, something that bothered Rise.

"I still can't believe Tamie-san was right," Rise sighed as she looked at the survey results.

"Oh, come on, Rise," Ayaka chided her good-naturedly. "We're still in the running and doing well!"

"I know, but it frustrates me! Masaya-san did a great thing, and yet the students can't look past a facial expression?"

"Well, they have never really seen violence before Masaya-san came to Vincennes. It stands to reason that they would be wary of such. I am actually surprised that he did not lose followers after he nearly killed Eitaro," Ruriko mused.

"I'm not going to question it. I can only hope that nothing else happens to push people away from me," Masaya said, arms crossed like usual.

"Do watch yourself, Masaya-san. This could easily be used against you," Rise warned.

"I know," Masaya nodded.

…

Two days later, Masaya was in his room after classes, organising some of his recently bought clothes, when his phone rang, signalling a received message.

"Hm? Who could that be?" Masaya wondered aloud, picking up his phone.

The contact was shown as 'Marika'.

"Marika-sama?" Masaya questioned, opening the message warily.

'Today, at five-thirty, meet me in class 3-B. Come alone.'

Masaya raised an eyebrow at the short and cryptic message. Checking the time, he realised that he had two hours until then. But this was sending many red flags to his brain. Why would Marika want to just suddenly meet with him? It wasn't like they interacted a lot. In fact, the last time he remembered talking with her at all was just after he had returned from _that_ mission, as she had been one of the girls that had expressed her condolences and her support for him. So where was _this_ coming from?

Masaya frowned at the message and put his phone away, picking up a plain shirt. He had to check this out.

…

Five minutes before five-thirty, Masaya was approaching classroom 3-B, wearing nothing more than a plain white shirt, a pair of jeans, and running shoes. His glasses were over his eyes, but his eyebrows were furrowed. He still found this situation confusing as all hell, but he would see why Marika wanted to talk to him. After all, he didn't want to offend the girl when the Premier Judgement was approaching.

He opened the door without a word, and watched as Marika, who was standing in front of a window, turned around to look at him. The setting sun was creating a halo of light around her body, making her look almost angelic. However, when Masaya focused on her eyes, the sense was broken. Her eyes were empty, and while she _was_ smiling, it seemed somewhat forced.

"Salutations," Marika greeted him as he entered, leaving the door open. "Please, close the door, Masaya-kun."

Masaya raised an eyebrow, but complied somewhat. He instead left it ajar. Turning back around, he approached the young woman and stood in front of her, hands at his sides.

"Hello, Marika-sama. What is it you called me for?" Masaya asked formally.

"Masaya… Masaya-kun, I… Ah…"

Masaya watched with a raised eyebrow as Marika stuttered slightly. Her face became red, and her body was trembling.

"Marika-sama, are you alright?" Masaya asked.

Marika focused on him, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, her empty eyes were back to normal.

"Yes, Masaya-kun, I am fine now."

Masaya nodded, looking into her eyes. "Then what is it you needed of me?"

"Masaya-kun… I need to tell you something…"

Masaya waited patiently, watching her face become suffused with some redness.

"Masaya-kun… I… I am in love with you."

Masaya, to Marika's surprise, did not react at all for a few seconds. After a moment, his only reaction was a raised eyebrow.

"You… are in love… with me?" Masaya asked sceptically.

"Yes," Marika responded.

Masaya continued to look at her face, but due to the fact that he had his glasses on, Marika couldn't look into his eyes to gather his reaction to this. Just as she had thought this, Masaya retracted his glasses, and his eyes looked troubled.

"Why? How?"

"I do not know, Masaya-kun. I just know that… when I am near you… my heart beats much faster than normal… and I want to be with you… I feel that I am in love with you…" Marika murmured, looking down momentarily and putting a hand to her breast.

Masaya stared at Marika with slightly narrowed eyes, which narrowed further when she looked away.

Marika was lying, that he could tell.

Perhaps not completely lying, but she was withholding something. She wasn't doing this purely as a love confession.

"Alright… I… I don't know what to say…" Masaya continued, playing along for the moment. Something here was rubbing him the wrong way.

"You don't need to say anything, Masaya-kun… just…"

Marika stopped here, then moved to the teacher's desk. Slowly, she began to remove her upper clothes until only her undershirt remained. Masaya raised an eyebrow as she slowly stripped, then raised it further when she continued and unbuttoned the first few buttons of her shirt, leaving her black bra and torso in full view. She then turned around fully and faced Masaya, an almost impish smile on her face. Masaya took a reflexive step back, watching as this slightly naked young woman approached him.

"Masaya-kun," she intoned, stepping _very_ close to him and grabbing his metallic hand. "I… I am in love with you…"

Masaya's eyes narrowed, although Marika didn't seem to be paying attention to his face anymore and was more focused on his chest and the hand she was holding. Her fingers traced the curvature of the metal, and her other hand came up to his chest and pressed against it, as if trying to push him back, though due to the strength difference between the two, she never actually managed to move him.

Masaya's eyebrow twitched as Marika began to move his hand towards her chest. "Boys…" she murmured. "They like hearing that, don't they?"

Masaya sighed and brought up his other hand, stopping the hand that Marika was using to try and get Masaya to grope her. Marika looked up at him in surprise and finally noticed that Masaya was looking at her with something akin to distrust and… pity?

"Marika-sama," Masaya sighed, pulling his hand away from her own and letting her go, which let Marika bring her hands to her sides. He reached forward with both hands, making Marika's eyes widen, before they filled with a small amount of tears as Masaya began to button up her shirt again. She stayed there, frozen and lightly crying, as Masaya picked up her vest, ribbon, and jacket, and dressed her himself. Then, when he was done, he stood in front of her and gazed at her. Marika, unable to hold the gaze with him, looked down shamefully, but Masaya wasn't having any of that. He placed a hand on her chin and lifted her head up, locking his own eyes with hers.

"Marika-sama… I'm flattered. Really, I am. But…" Masaya hesitated and looked away for a moment, and Marika saw a strange facial expression pass through his face. "I can't. I can't accept this out of the blue, especially sex. Not like this. If we knew each other better, or if we had been dating for some time, I could, but right now... we don't know each other enough for this to make any sense. If you truly love me, though…" Masaya smiled lightly as Marika's eyes widened. "Prove it to me. I can wait."

Marika stared, dumbfounded, at Masaya's smiling visage, and once again, she looked down shamefully, her body shaking with sobs. "No… please don't be nice to me… You really are a Good Samaritan… my neighbour… and I… I am the serpent worthy of scorn… I…"

"Shh," Masaya shushed her, placing a hand against her lips. "That's enough of that. If I may be honest with you, Marika-sama, I am attracted to you." Marika looked up at him in shock, her eyes wide and a blush suffusing her face. "It's true. You are a beautiful young woman, and I can't help that I am attracted to you. But I don't know if I love you. I can grow to love you, that's for sure, but that all depends on you now." With that, Masaya smiled at her and kissed her cheek, drawing a gasp from her, before he moved on and left the room, walking back at a leisure pace to his room.

…

As he approached it, he checked his phone, looking to see if he had received any messages. Nothing was forthcoming, so he shrugged and unlocked the room, entering and closing the door behind him.

"Did you get all of that?" he asked.

"Yeah, we got the entire conversation," Chiho said from his bed, a laptop on her legs. Next to her were Rise, Ruriko, and Ayaka, who were all looking at Masaya now that he had returned. "She was lying. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't," Masaya responded, sitting on a chair next to the dresser. "There's something wrong with her. I don't know what it is, and I don't like it. It's like she's having an existential crisis or something."

"Why are you worried for her?" Ayaka asked him suspiciously.

"Do I need a reason to be worried for a friend?" Masaya shot back with a strong frown, making Ayaka back off.

"A friend?" Ruriko asked curiously.

"Well, that might be a charitable way to put it, but I do consider everyone here my friend, even those against me. If I don't, I would be no better than them," Masaya explained.

The girls smiled at him, content with his answer.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Rise asked him.

"For now, nothing. The way I see it, had I gone along with actually having sex with her, one of two outcomes could have come along: we would have had sex, and I may have gotten her pregnant. Not to mention that if people found out we did it in a classroom, we would likely get expelled. Or two… she could have claimed I raped her, thus quickly sending me out of this place."

The girls gasped at the second option.

"Marika-sama? Falsely claiming rape on you? But why would she do that?" Ruriko asked, horrified at the concept.

"That's exactly it. If she did do that, nobody would believe I didn't do it," Masaya summarised.

The girls looked outraged at the concept, so Masaya raised both his hands and his voice. "Thankfully, that didn't happen, and even if it does, we have evidence to counter it."

He gave a meaningful glance at the laptop. Earlier, about an hour before meeting with Marika, he had gone to the classroom and checked it out thoroughly, finding no hidden bugs or anything similar. Not trusting the situation, though, he had outfitted the four corners of the room with his own, portable cameras, which streamed the video directly to his personal laptop. He had enlisted the help of his fellow White Lilies, tasking them with watching the laptop and keeping an eye on Marika's movements and actions.

"Anyways, I think everything will be fine now," Masaya sighed, standing up and taking off his shirt en-route to his closet. "We have hard evidence of what truly happened, so I can't be framed. And in any case…"

Masaya was about to continue, but as he turned, he realised that the girls were oddly quiet. Looking back momentarily, he had to hold back a snort when he realised that they were all focused on his back, both upper and… lower.

"Jeez, wouldn't you girls be used to this by now? It's not the first time I've been shirtless in front of you," Masaya muttered, putting on his spare shirt and making Ayaka and Ruriko moan in sadness. Sighing, Masaya turns around completely and raises an eyebrow at them. "Did you even hear what I said?"

The girls all startle and look away, putting on their best thinking poses.

"I thought so," Masaya chuckles.

…

Two days later, Masaya was once again standing on the roof of the school, watching the sun set, when the door to the roof opened. Masaya turned, expecting it to be his usual sunset-watching partner, but was surprised when he registered not blonde, but purple, hair.

Short, purple hair.

"Mitsuki-san?" Masaya questioned aloud, watching with a raised eyebrow as the Red Rose member approached him, her eyes shadowed and her fists clenched.

"So… you were really up here…" Mitsuki murmured, almost too low for him to hear.

Masaya watched carefully as she approached him, keeping his senses sharp for anything that may happen. He had a run-in with Marika just two days ago, and Mitsuki and Marika were pretty tight with each other.

Suddenly, one of Mitsuki's hands unclenched as she reached forward and tried to slap Masaya. Unfortunately for her, Masaya was already prepared for any action, and he was able to catch her wrist easily. His eyes narrowed, staring into Mitsuki's own narrowed, and tear-filled, ones.

"You… what did you do to Onee-sama?!" Mitsuki exclaimed at him.

Masaya raised an eyebrow at her words. "What did I…?"

"Onee-sama's been acting weird these last two days, and I know you're the cause of it! Tell me!" Mitsuki yelled at him.

Masaya sighed and released her wrist, though Mitsuki did not try to hit him again.

"I didn't do anything to her. In fact, I think she did something to herself," Masaya said, turning back around.

"What do you mean?" Mitsuki questioned, some of her anger leaving her and being replaced with confusion.

Instead of answering her, Masaya turned halfway and regarded her with a sharp eye. "You're in it with her, aren't you?"

"W-What?"

Masaya continued to stare into her eyes, his narrowed ones setting Mitsuki on edge. At the same time, though, he opened up his most recently acquired program.

"The way I see it, Mitsuki-san, the meeting that Marika-sama requested could have gone one of two bad ways," Masaya summarised, his eyes never leaving Mitsuki's own. "You knew, this, didn't you?"

Mitsuki gasped and moved back, her eyes widening. Masaya stared at her for only a bit more before sighing and turning back around to stare at the retreating sunlight. A check of his GPS tracking device told him where Marika currently was.

"Come," Masaya stated, turning around and walking to the door. The sunset was over, but his thoughts were still troubled. "I need to talk to Marika-sama myself."

Mitsuki watched his retreating back for only a moment before following him. Silently, the pair walked to Marika's room, whereupon Masaya motioned for Mitsuki to knock. Hesitantly, Mitsuki did so, calling out to Marika.

"Onee-sama? Are you in?"

Silence was the only answer.

"Onee-sama? It's me, Mitsuki. Can we talk?" Mitsuki tried knocking again, but the result was the same.

Eyes narrowed, Masaya activated Smart Vision and checked the room, almost immediately closing his eyes again. He reached out and grabbed Mitsuki's shoulder to stop her.

"Stop. She's not in there."

Mitsuki turned around, her eyes full of worry. "Where could she be?"

Masaya frowned and thought things over, turning fully to Mitsuki. "Mitsuki-san, I need you to be frank with me. What did Marika-sama seem like to you these last few days?"

"What do you mean?"

"What did she look like? How did she act? Were there any odd actions or reactions?" Masaya questioned.

After some hesitation, Mitsuki revealed to Masaya that Marika had become very anti-integration suddenly, though more specifically, she wanted to get _him_ out of Vincennes. Despite the fact that even Mitsuki was beginning to warm up to Masaya, something she only grudgingly admitted, Marika was insistent and soon came to the article that Tamie had printed about Masaya apprehending the peeping tom. She theorised that Marika thought she could frame him as a violent rapist if she used that, and while Mitsuki initially proposed she be the one to call Masaya out, Marika refused and took the position. Despite that, her plan went to shambles with Masaya's reaction and knowledge, and in the last two days, she had been very reserved, hardly speaking a word to anyone. She had also been neglecting her student council president duties, something that Mitsuki explained she had _never_ done. Mitsuki had been trying to get Marika out of her funk, but so far she had been unsuccessful. In fact, Marika had seemed to spiral deeper into what sounded like depression to Masaya.

Thinking all of this over, Masaya looked at Mitsuki and spoke seriously, "Well, as unhappy as I am with this plan you two concocted, I'm a little more worried about her state of mind right now. Knowing what I know about Marika, these actions of hers aren't what she would define as righteous, which leads me to believe this is something she has been forced to do. If she's not in her room though…"

Masaya's speech faded out as he realised that he had unconsciously turned off the GPS tracking system after finding out that Marika was in her room while on the roof, believing that she wouldn't have moved from there. Considering the time it took for Mitsuki and himself to reach her room, she would have had plenty of time to get out and move far away enough that she'd be out of sight by the time the two of them reached her room. Cursing slightly, he reopened the GPS tracking system and checked her phone's location, whereupon his eyes widened.

"What? What's wrong?" Mitsuki asked him, noticing his reaction.

With a grunt of apprehension, Masaya reached out and grabbed Mitsuki's wrist, pulling her along as he began to run down the hall. "Come on! Marika-sama's in the worst place she could be right now!"

"M-Masaya-san, what are you talking about?!" Mitsuki exclaimed as she tried her best to keep up with Masaya's running stride.

"Your Onee-sama, right now… is at the bell tower!" Masaya explained to her as they exited the dorm and began to run towards the building Masaya had just mentioned. "Considering her actions these last few days, why do you think she'd be there at this time of night?!"

Mitsuki was quick to put the pieces together, and she almost tripped as she realised what Masaya was getting at. With a cry of, "No, Onee-sama!" she sped up, trying her hardest to reach the bell tower in time.

As they were running, a light rain began to fall, which quickly became stronger, soaking the two of them to the bone.

"Shit, rain? Now?" Masaya cursed as he looked up, knowing how much of a bad omen this could be. With a small grunt of exertion, he sped up, outpacing Mitsuki slightly and reaching the bell tower before her. He immediately looked up, whereupon he saw that his worst fear was correct.

Silhouetted by the moonlight and the sparse lightning that came with the storm was Marika, leaning against one of the spires that surrounded the large bell on top of the tower.

"ONEE-SAMA!" Mitsuki cried out as she looked up and noticed the young woman there.

Gritting his teeth, Masaya grabbed Mitsuki's wrist and pulled her into the cathedral, immediately going to the stairway. As the pair entered it, Masaya was dismayed to note that it was a very large run.

"Sorry about this, Mitsuki-san," Masaya apologised.

"Wha-Whoa!" Mitsuki cried out as Masaya suddenly grabbed her and picked her up in a bride-style carry, running to the steps as soon as he had a secure grip. Activating one of his augmentations, Masaya crouched and jumped, startling Mitsuki enough to make her cry out when he flew higher than she thought he could and landed at the final step of the ten-step stairway. Masaya turned and repeated this about five times, clearing the climb much faster than they could have on foot. Once at the top, Masaya put Mitsuki down carefully, then placed a hand on the door.

"Ready?" Masaya turned his head back and asked Mitsuki, who nodded resolutely.

With a return nod, Masaya carefully pushed open the door.

"Onee-s-!"

Mitsuki's cry was stopped by Masaya's hand covering her mouth, startling her.

"Mitsuki-san, speak low. If you startle her, she could easily fall," Masaya whispered to her.

With a nod, Mitsuki sighed and took a deep breath, calming herself.

"Onee-sama?" Mitsuki questioned, much more calmly this time. "What are you doing up here?"

Marika didn't respond for a moment. Then, without turning around, she said, "Mitsuki?

"Yes, Onee-sama, it's me."

"... I don't understand... I feel like I don't understand anything anymore, Mitsuki..."

"Onee-sama? What do you mean?"

"All this time... I've lived righteously... Done things righteously... But this... What I've done cannot possibly be righteous..."

"You always have been righteous, Onee-sama."

"But if my current actions are so dishonorable... Have I been living in a lie all this time? Have my actions until now been wrong...?"

"No, Onee-sama. You've always cared for all of us. You're La Toute Soeur, and you earned the title. I've been with you, and I know it, but even then... I've failed."

"Huh?" That seemed to snap Marika somewhat back to the world, as she turned her head around a little and her tone showed confusion.

"I've failed you, Onee-sama. I could see that this was hurting you, but I didn't know how or why, and because of my hesitation, you've been driven to this... I've failed you, and dishonored the name of Chef de Corps..."

"No, Mitsuki," Marika responded with a small amount of force. "You have always been by my side and supported me, and this is something I've chosen myself. You have failed no one. It was me who has been blinded..."

"But that isn't my only failure, is it, Onee-sama?" Mitsuki asked tearfully. "I've done not just you, but Rise-san wrong as well. I distanced myself from her because I was jealous of what she had achieved, and I haven't tried to fix my mistake. I live with it all the time, and it tears me up, but I know that now..." Here, she looked at Masaya, who was standing on the middle ground between the girls, and gave him a warm smile that actually startled him. "I think I can begin to mend the drift between us, with some help from Masaya-san. He noticed how distant I was, and tried to help me back when we went to Hirom-san's funeral, and with his help, I think I can further mend the drift that has appeared between me and Rise-san. But I tell you this because I want you to know that you don't need to do this alone. We can help! Please, just trust in us!"

Marika stood there, not moving a muscle. Masaya saw her shift in place a little and felt the wind get stronger, so he decided it was a good time to step in.

"She's right, you know."

Marika turned halfway and looked at Masaya with wet eyes. He was unsure whether those were tears or rainwater. "Masaya-kun... You're here too."

"Marika-sama, we are still young," Masaya said, crossing his arms. "Nobody is omnipotent, invincible, or infallible, especially us teenagers. We make mistakes, we trip, and we fall." He took a step closer. "But it's because we're young that we have the chance to fix things, and if not, to learn from the mistake we made and understand where we went wrong. That is what I believe is true righteousness. Understanding when you are wrong and taking steps to fix it."

Marika stared at him for a while, then closed her eyes and sighed. "You... You're right, I see that now... But why, Masaya-kun? Why are you trying to help me when I tried to scheme against you?"

"Because I saw back then that there was something wrong. You were acting oddly, I could tell. And like you did with me after I returned from... that mission, I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and try to see _why_ you were trying to seduce me."

Marika stared at the young infiltrator, a small amount of hope and, dare she say, attraction blossoming in her chest. A smile began to form on her face.

"Masaya-kun..."

Before she could say anything else, however, the wind began to loudly pick up. The three students braced themselves against it.

Or, in Marika's case, tried to.

The blonde began to panic when she realised that her bedraggled hair was only dragging her back with the wind, and her body was far too close to the edge. She reached out to try and hold on to something, but there was nothing to grab.

"Onee-sama!"

"Marika-sama!"

Both Mitsuki and Masaya realised what was happening a moment too late, but while Mitsuki was unable to move in time, Masaya reacted quicker and jumped forward, intent on grabbing her.

Marika's foot went past the edge, slipped, and then gravity took over.

"Ah!"

"Gotcha!"

Masaya had just been able to snatch her wrist in a tight grip, but now Marika was hanging by his arm with nothing else to grab on, and his shoes were slipping.

 _'Damn it! I can't step back or I'll completely lose my footing! Mitsuki isn't strong enough to pull us both up, which means...'_

"Marika-sama, I need you to hold on to my arm as tightly as you can!" Masaya yelled at her.

"Masaya-kun, please, don't force yourself! Just let me go-"

"Shut up, damnit!" Masaya's retort definitely managed to make her do just that. "I'm not going to let you die! You still have a long life left ahead of you!"

"But..."

"No buts! Tell me yourself, Marika-sama, do you want to die?!"

Marika was silent.

"Answer me!"

"... No..."

"I can't hear you!"

"No!" Marika exclaimed to the raining heavens. "No, I don't! I... I still have to right my wrongs! I don't want to die!"

Masaya locked eyes with her and smiled tenderly. "That's what I thought."

Looking around to make sure he wasn't planning with missing pieces, he looked between both girls and summarized the situation. "Alright, listen up. I have a plan. I can't pull you up without losing my footing, and I doubt you're strong enough to pull us both back, Mitsuki-san, unless you've been hitting the weights for a while now." The girls stared at him in bewilderment. "Thus, I need you to trust me for this. Marika-sama, I need you to hold on to my arm as tight as you can." When she had readjusted her grip, he nodded and looked back. "Mitsuki-san, I need you to simply not freak out."

"What?"

"Brace yourself, Marika-sama. On three!"

"What will you-?!"

"Three!"

Suddenly, Masaya pumped his legs and jumped, his shoes slipping a little and making him front flip halfway. Mitsuki let out a scream when she saw this, and she got as close to the edge as she could to see what Masaya's plan could possibly be.

Marika screamed loudly when she felt herself jerk away from the tower, and she looked frantically towards Masaya, whose face was set in a determined frown. Before she could understandably question what he was thinking, he easily pulled her towards him and pressed her against his chest. As they reached the short apex of his jump, he commanded only one thing.

"Hold onto my body, now!"

The command sending odd shivers up her spine, she obeyed and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. As gravity took hold of them once again, Marika's sight was filled with a yellow light. Suddenly, their descent slowed to a more manageable level, and Marika watched in wonder as they fell as if they had a parachute on them. She chanced a look at Masaya's face and blushed upon seeing how close his face was, set in a concentrated scowl.

Finally, they reached ground and Masaya's feet touched down. He fell to his knees to bleed off some momentum, then took a breath and stood up. Looking down, he smiled in amusement at the spaced out Marika.

"We've landed, Marika-sama. You can let go now."

"Oh!" Marika jerked and looked up, then let her death grip on him relax and stood on her wobbly legs.

Masaya closed his eyes and checked on the energy left of his inner battery. Reading normal levels, he opened his eyes and watched as Marika got herself back in order.

"Onee-sama! Masaya-san!" Both of then turned and watched as Mitsuki approached. Once in front of them, she bent over and breathed deeply, trying to get air in her lungs. "What... What was that, Masaya-san?"

"I'd like to know myself," Marika added.

"That is what my company calls the Icarus Landing System," Masaya explained. "To put it simply, implanted on my lower back is an acceleration detector. If the detector notes that I'm accelerating too quickly in a downward direction, it will automatically create an electromagnetic field around me that pushes against the Earth's own magnetic field, slowing my descent. Normally it takes no energy from me, but with added weight, it requires me to add energy myself to increase the potency."

The girls stared at Masaya in flabbergasted surprise, then Marika crossed her arms and turned away. "Are you suggesting I am fat, Masaya-kun?"

Masaya sighed, prompting her to look at him. "I don't know. Maybe it's your breasts, Marika-sama. Let's be honest, they're quite large."

"Masaya-kun!" Marika exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest and making Masaya laugh. His laughter quickly drifted away, however, in favour of a more serious expression.

"Marika-sama, come here," he beckoned.

Marika nodded and approached him, but ended up falling to her knees with a yelp when, out of nowhere, Masaya reached out and slapped her upside the head.

"The next time you have a metal breakdown, try to let one of us know so we can talk you out of such idiotic ideas, capiche?"

Marika looked up at him with wide eyes, but in the end, she nodded. With a sigh, Masaya reached out and grabbed her hand, helping her up.

"Masaya-kun..." Marika suddenly whispered.

"Yes?"

"I've... never had anyone... talk to me in such a strong tone..." Marika said in a breathy voice, stepping closer to him.

Masaya leaned back a little, surprised by the sudden change. If his social enhancer wasn't lying to him, Marika was... aroused?

"I feel... so strange right now... What is this feeling I have towards you?" Marika asked, mostly to herself, it seemed.

Masaya stood there, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, Marika looked at him, but her eyes were half-lidded and unfocused, and she began leaning into him.

"Masaya-kun..."

"Onee-sama!"

Mitsuki's exclamation brought Marika crashing back to the present, making the blonde look at Mitsuki in askance.

"That's not fair! You're not the only one who likes him, you know!" Mitsuki exclaimed heatedly, and a moment later, realised what she had just said.

While Masaya looked away and shook his head in amusement, Marika smirked and walked over to her underling. "Oh? Is that a confession of attraction I hear, Mitsuki?"

"Well... I-I mean... Rise-san and the other like him! Yeah, that's it! I was talking about them!"

"Oh? Such sportsmanship you have, Mitsuki-san," Masaya chortled.

Mitsuki glared at him, face suffused with redness. The words rang in her head with a small sense of deja vu, and with it, she remembered the words that Masaya had said on the first day they'd met.

 _"Mitsuki-san, first of all, I had my doubts, but the way you spoke just now showed little sportsmanship and, above all, just sounded petty..."_

"Well, I guess even I have changed due to your influence, Masaya-san," Mitsuki said with a low voice.

Masaya shook his head and turned around, beginning to walk back to the dormitory. "Come on, ladies. It's far too wet out here, and this isn't my first choice of wetness I want to see on a girl, if you catch my drift."

The girls followed behind, processing what Masaya had just said. A moment later, both stopped, faces red, and exclaimed only one word, making Masaya laugh uproariously.

"Pervert!"

...

The next day, the girls of the White Rise Society, plus Ritsuko and Konomi, were thrown for a loop when they saw Mitsuki and Marika approach them leisurely as they relaxed in the Rose Garden. They greeted everyone, but seemed to have an especially warm greeting for Masaya.

"Salutations, Masaya-kun," Marika said in a low, somewhat seductive voice.

As the rest of the girls stared in bewilderment, minus Mitsuki, who simply smiled knowingly, Masaya sighed good-naturedly and looked up at her, since he was seated. "Hello, Marika-sama."

"Oh, Masaya-kun, you can call me Marika-san. I don't mind," Marika giggled.

"Oh? Sounds fine to me," Masaya smiled at the young woman. "Certainly feels more comfortable to call you such after the close encounter we had last night."

That caused the girls to begin spluttering in a mix of confusion and outrage, but before they could actually get a sentence in, Mitsuki stepped towards Masaya with an impish smile on her face. "Now, now, Masaya-san. Do remember that that close encounter surely shaved years off my life."

"You'll live long anyways, Mitsuki-san, and last night's fun won't be last time it will happen, I'm sure. Maybe you'll join me instead of Marika-san this time?"

"Well, it certainly sounds tempting," Mitsuki commented.

"He's quite fun to hang onto, believe me, Mitsuki," Marika giggled.

That seemed to be the final straw for the girls, because they all stood at once, even the placid Ritsuko, and yelled out, "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!"

Mitsuki jumped a little at the volume the girls achieved, but Masaya and Marika simply stared, both with little smiles. The three of them shared knowing looks between themselves, then burst out laughing, confusing not just the ones at their table, but the few other girls whose attention was caught in the earlier ruckus.

"You'll... You'll have to forgive me," Masaya let out between laughs. "I couldn't help phrasing things that way." As Marika and Mitsuki's laughter began to die down, Masaya turned to them and flashed a thumbs up. "Well done, you two. I honestly didn't think you'd be able to keep up."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Mitsuki asked smugly.

"A closet pervert?"

Now Mitsuki was the one spluttering in denial. Marika, meanwhile, ended up laughing even more. Masaya let her, then beckoned her down and whispered into her ear, "Oh, and just so you know, I've gained quite a strong commanding tone from my experience. I'll let you take that how you will."

Marika blushed brightly as she understood what he meant, stepping back in shock and once again re-evaluating Masaya.

This young man was very, _very_ perceptive.

"And thus, I win."

With all of the girls around him knocked into silence one way or another, it certainly seemed that way.

"So..." Ayaka, being a habitual prankster, was the first to fully recover. Marika's nose was beginning to bleed slightly; the second year girls were still trying to comprehend what happened, with Mitsuki being quiet in embarrassment; and Ritsuko was sighing in exasperation at the situation and at Konomi, who was red faced and whose eyes were spinning. " _Friend,_ was it?"

The angry undertones in the question finally got the other White Lilies to react, and they all glared at Masaya with equal fervour.

"Yep," Masaya responded simply. Noticing Marika's face momentarily turn to sadness, he sighed and motioned with his hand. "Sit down already. I'll explain."

It took a moment, but the girls eventually did so. Marika and Mitsuki sat as close to Masaya as possible, receiving looks from the girls before Masaya began to explain what had happened last night.

...

"So that's why I did not find you on the rooftop when I went. Mitsuki-san had arrived there first," Ruriko mused.

"Yep."

Masaya was currently leaning against the table with his head down, making his response muffled.

"So, what was all that earlier?" Chiho asked.

"I just decided to mess with these two when they arrived, but as you noticed, they caught on quick and retaliated just as well," Masaya said, looking up momentarily to smirk at the girls to his sides. "Unfortunately for them, I may have restrain over it, but I still have a man's libido. Meaning dirty jokes and double entendres are my specialty."

"Pervert," Mitsuki muttered.

"And proud of it, hot stuff," Masaya winked at her, making her blush again.

"Are you trying to build a harem, Masaya-san?" Ruriko asked, in a surprisingly calm tone.

Everyone looked at her with some amount of bewilderment, then Masaya chuckled and shook his head. "No. Are you insane? First of all, I doubt I have enough strength to keep up with any more than maybe three or four girls at a time. Trust me, I checked." The girls blushed at hearing that little titbit of information. "Secondly, and once again, I wouldn't risk it considering my line of work." That made the girls frown. "And finally, if you're referring to the group around us at the moment, Ruriko-san, then look around and tell me yourself: if I tried to build a harem, do you have any idea how much rampant jealousy there would be in the group? Hell, Rise and Chiho would make up half of the entire amount on their own! They fight almost daily about it!"

"Masaya/Masaya-san!" The two girls exclaimed heatedly.

"What?" Masaya retorted. "Look me in the eyes right now. I dare you to tell me it's not true."

Masaya's annoyed tone took many of them by surprise, and Rise and Chiho were unable to counter his claim and sat back down, defeated.

"Case closed," Masaya sighed. "Seriously, you two need to stop that. At first, I didn't mind it because I cared so little about relationships and it didn't happen often, but you two have been growing increasingly more annoying with your squabbles."

The two girls glanced at each other, and some quiet conversation seemed to pass between them. Together, they looked directly at Masaya and spoke.

"Then who do you pick?"

Masaya raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Masaya-san, I suppose by now it's no secret that we... like you," Rise bravely took the lead, though Chiho nodded in tandem with her statement. "That is why we argue so much, as you say. Thus, logically, the only way to stop it would be for you to choose one of us and end it."

To the rest of the girls, Masaya's options seemed clear cut. It was either one or the other. However, once again, Masaya proved them wrong by standing, sighing, and turning away, saying only one word.

"Neither."

Both girls drew back at that.

"And before you say anything, it's not because I don't like either of you, or any of you for that matter." Masaya turned back around, looking at all of the girls. "Rise, correct me if I'm wrong, buy the Premier Judgement is only a week away, right?"

Rise took a moment to think about it, then blinked and shrieked in surprise.

"Oh my God, you're right!"

The rest of the girls seemed just as shocked about Rise forgetting the date as they were of how fast time has passed since Masaya's arrival.

"Exactly," Masaya nodded. "Due to how much we interact, it's understandable it would seem as if I'm already part of the school, but I'm not. And unfortunately, by the time the Premier Judgement rolls around, I may not even be at the school on the day."

"What? Why not?" Mitsuki asked.

Masaya placed his hands on the table and leaned in, waving at the girls to get closer. "Listen well, because I'm only going to explain it once." When the girls all nodded, he began. "Ever since the incident with Eitaro, my team and I have been working to study the neural hub in his head and trace it back to the man who I mentioned on that day. Instead of a single target, though, we found an entire network of smuggling rings, ranging from money to drugs to people. We weren't able to find the place where the head guy is, but we believe that the information should be in one of the bases around the country. And as you can probably guess by now... I'm the main infiltrator for these missions. We just need to wait for approval from the higher ups about the missions and the allocation of resources for it, and from right now, it'll take roughly half a week, especially for something this big."

The girls stared at him, trying to comprehend exactly what he was saying.

"So... On the day of the Premier Judgement... You're not going to be here?" Chiho asked.

"Probably not, no. In fact... I don't think I'll be back for the whole week," Masaya sighed. "I'm going to speak with the headmistress as soon as I get the approval and timetable for the infiltrations so that she'll put me on necessary leave."

As the girls stared at Masaya, he stood up fully and looked at them with a serious gaze. "And that is why my answer is what it is. I'm going to be completely honest here, all of you have qualities that I find attractive, and if I was going to ask any one of you out, I'd make a choice. But... This is a big operation. My team is hitting one of the biggest bases, and there's a very big chance this could go wrong. I'm being optimistic when I say I'll be gone a week. And with the Premier Judgement around the corner... There's too many variables for me to even think of subjecting any of you to that... especially if I don't come back."

Masaya looked at the girls, taking in their expressions. Their reactions ranged from shock to anguish. Rise, Chiho, and Ruriko were even openly crying.

"No, Masaya-san," Rise said, determination in her watery voice. "You have to promise us… You have to promise you'll come back."

Masaya looked away, unable to keep eye contact. "I can't..."

"Please!" Rise exclaimed. "Please, at least promise you'll try your best. Please... You have to come back... to us."

Masaya looked around the table, taking in everyone's expressions, then nodded. "I promise I'll try my best. But that's all I can do."

...

...

...


End file.
